


All I Dream Of Lately

by DizzyRedhead



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Begging, Body Shots, Consent Play, Dildos, Light Dom/sub, M/M, Masturbation, Mutual Pining, POV Alternating, Road Trips, Sexual Fantasy, Sharing a Bed, Sharing a Room, Very mild but tagging just in case, Walking In On Someone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-08-14 14:54:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 28,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20194099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DizzyRedhead/pseuds/DizzyRedhead
Summary: To play with someone like Tyler Seguin, Jamie would do a lot worse than share a room. Now if he could only get rid of this pesky crush...After flunking out of BU thanks to too much partying, Tyler would do a lot to keep playing, including moving to Texas. Now if only he can manage not to jump his new captain...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Why_so_drama](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Why_so_drama/gifts).

> Why_so_drama said they liked College AUs and, well. My brain spawned this monster. *peeks at the word count* *runs away* It just...kept happening? I don't even know, but I hope I hit enough of your likes for you to enjoy it!
> 
> This is an AU where Jamie and Tyler are almost the same age, to make the college thing work. I handwaved like, almost everything. UNT's club team is a DII, not a DI. The team practice arena is almost certainly not connected to the athletic center. I've never been to the UNT campus, so all of my research was done on the internet. I almost set it on a campus/university I did know, but then it wouldn't have been in Texas, so.....It's fiction. I fictionalized. Sorry!
> 
> Title from "Closer" by Tegan and Sara because it's kind of a theme song for this fic and I didn't even realize until I went looking for something to steal a title from. 
> 
> [I made a thematic playlist for this fic and you can listen here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1ZBuIwyGxTBTJecvJhpA9S?si=t8M6qt6JRou93zDn5DDOXA) Most of the songs are ones that would have been popular during the putative time-frame for this fic, but again...handwavey. If a song made me think of these idiots, I added it.
> 
> If anyone comments on every chapter of this I will love you forever, seriously, you have no idea. I need validation right now like whoa.

Jamie frowned down at his phone. He didn’t usually answer phone calls, but it was an on-campus number, so he probably should. “Hello?”

“Jamie!” The voice seemed familiar, but he couldn’t place it. “This is Lindy Ruff. How are you doing?”

“Fine, thanks.” The answer came automatically, even though his mind was racing. Why would the new Stars head coach be calling him? It was still summer; sure, Jamie was on campus taking summer classes and keeping up with his training, but most of the team had scattered as soon as the spring semester ended. July wasn’t exactly when anyone was thinking about hockey. Except, apparently, for Coach Ruff. “How can I help you, sir?”

“Right to the point.” Ruff laughed. “You’re not wrong, son. I do need to ask you for a favor. We have the opportunity to take our game to the next level this season, but I’m going to need your help. You know Tyler Seguin?”

It took Jamie a moment to place the name, and when he did, he was even more confused. “Uh, I think so. Forward for BU? Cracked the first line as a freshman?”

“That’s the one. Only he’s not at BU anymore. It seems they dropped the ball, didn’t support him enough, and he flunked out. He wants to play, but with his grades, any school with an NCAA team isn’t going to take him.”

Jamie wasn’t slow, whatever some people like to think. “And you think we can get him to come here? To Dallas?”

“I know it’s ‘just’ club hockey.” He could practically hear Ruff rolling his eyes. “But this can be a win-win scenario. Seguin gets to play, and we get the caliber of player it’s hard to find on teams like ours. And he’s a natural center, so you get to go back to being a winger.”

“How can I help, sir?” This time it wasn’t just a platitude. Jamie was a little skeptical that everything would work out as smoothly as Ruff thought, but the prospect of having a player like Seguin on his team--any captain worth his salt would jump at that kind of opportunity.

Ruff laughed again. “Good man. Like I said, BU didn’t support Seguin; he was rooming by himself, fell in with a crowd that spent more time partying than going to class. The coaching staff has talked it over, and we think it would be best if he had a more settled arrangement. Would you be willing to put him up at your place?”

“I--” Jamie’s mind raced, considering the variables. “I think so. I’ll have to check with my brother, since he and I signed the lease together. And make sure our landlords will let us add him to the lease.”

“If you run into any problems, call. We can help smooth things over. It’s the least we can do, asking you to disrupt your life like this.”

Jamie shrugged, then remembered that Ruff couldn’t see him. “If we can get Seguin, I think it’ll be worth it, sir.”

“I think so, too.” The smile in Ruff’s voice came through clearly. “Talk it over with your brother and let me know. I’ll have someone send you Seguin’s number so you can touch base with him, let him know more specifically what we’re offering.”

“Sounds good, sir.”

Before silence could settle awkwardly between them, Ruff smoothly ended the conversation. Jamie stared at his phone in disbelief for a moment, but the screen didn’t hold any answers.. 

It didn’t seem possible that so much could change in the space of a few minutes. Not that Jamie hadn’t been looking forward to the next season, but this--Ruff was right. This could take them to a whole new level.

Before he could get too lost in thought, an incoming text popped up from someone on the coaching staff with Seguin’s phone number. Jamie stared at it for a moment, but then remembered that he couldn’t contact Seguin yet. First, he needed to talk to Jordie.

It was still early enough that Jordie might be able to take a personal call without too much trouble, and anyway, he worked for the university athletic department. This was kind of work-related. Jamie hit the speed-dial button, turning back to the stove just in time to rescue his eggs from being more than slightly too brown.

Thankfully, Jordie picked up; Jamie hadn’t been looking forward to leaving everything hanging while he waited for his brother to call or text back. “What’s up, Chubbs? You burn the house down yet?”

Jamie manfully ignored that aspersion on his cooking skills and outlined the situation. “I told Ruff I’d have to talk to you,” he said once he’d laid it all out. “And I don’t even know if he’d want to live here, but--”

“I appreciate you running it by me first.” Jordie sounded thoughtful. “Seguin, huh? Can’t believe BU let him go, even if he never went to class.”

“Their loss.”

Jordie laughed. “Yeah, I guess so. I’m fine with it, if you are and he is. But where are we gonna put him, Chubbs? There are only two bedrooms in the house.”

Thankfully Jamie had already figured out the solution for this problem. “The master is big enough to fit a second bed in there. He can share with one of us. It’ll still be better and nicer than the dorms.”

“He’s sharing with you.” Jordie barely waited for Jamie to finish talking before making this declaration. “Because I’m the oldest, and you two will be playing together anyway. Good for team chemistry.”

Jamie rolled his eyes, wishing Jordie was there so he could flip him off in person. “Fine, Darth, whatever.”

“Gotta go actually work for a living. Let me know if Seguin actually takes you up on it.” Jordie hung up before Jamie could say anything else.

Well, that settled that. Jamie called Coach Ruff back and left a voicemail saying he was going to reach out to Seguin about living with them, then pulled up his text app and copied over the unfamiliar number.

That was as far as he got before awkwardness set in. At least he was just staring at a blank text and not stuttering his way through a phone call. 

In the end, he settled for simple. Probably for the best. If Seguin was going to play on his team, going to live in his house, he’d know what Jamie was like soon enough.

**This is Jamie Benn. We’re excited you’re thinking about the Stars. If you wanted, my brother Jordie and I have a house and you could split the rent instead of living in the dorms. Lmk if you have questions.**

Locking the phone, he shoved it into his pocket and did his best to put it from his mind, telling himself that he probably wouldn’t get a response for hours, if not days.

So when his phone buzzed a few minutes later, he was expecting it to be Jordie, or maybe Eaks or Rouss or one of the other handful of teammates who’d stayed in town over the summer. 

He definitely wasn’t expecting a response from Seguin.

**Dude that wd b gr8 cld i brng my puppy?**

While Jamie was still parsing that sentence, a picture came through of an adorable chocolate Lab.  **his name is Marshall and he’s the best boy**

**I’ll have to check the lease, but it should be fine.** Jamie probably shouldn’t have sent that answer without checking with Jordie, but on this, at least, he felt pretty confident. 

**Sweet** ****   
**dorms were the WORST** **   
** **he missed me**

Jamie thought he was starting to get a handle on Seguin’s texting style. Which, to be honest, wasn’t as bad as some of the other guys on the team.  **So you’re definitely planning to come?**

**ya dude** ****   
**best offer i had all summer** **   
** **r u there now?**

Jamie allowed himself a little fistpump of victory and made a mental note to start watching as much of Seguin’s game tape as possible.  **Yeah I’m here for the summer, couple of extra classes, keep my training up.**

**good deal** ****   
**Think i cld come out prety quick** **   
** **?**

Everything was moving super fast, but in a good way.  **Probably. Hang on, gonna add Jordie and check with him**

Since Jordie checked his phone more than anyone else Jamie knew, even when he was supposed to be working, it only took him a few minutes to catch up.  **Hell yeah, come over whenever, dude. The house is a 2bed, tho. You ok sharing with Jamie?**

**dude if i get 2 have marshall i’d share a bed**

Jordie immediately sent back like a dozen cry-laughing emojis.

**Nah, you get your own bed. ** Jamie found himself blushing at the thought, grateful that he was alone in the house and having this conversation over text. He’d seen pictures of Seguin, of course. The guy had never met a camera that didn’t love him. Jamie did not need to share a bed with all that.  **You’ll just have to pay the pet deposit**

**u got urself a deal**   
**i’ll let u know when i have a flight and shit****  
****gonna be fuckin epic!!!**

Thankfully that seemed to be the end of the conversation for now. Jamie swore when he noticed the time at the top of his phone screen. He was going to either have to drive or bust his ass on the bike to get to campus on time for his class.

The Tyler Seguin Situation would have to wait.

* * *

Over the next couple of weeks, Jamie learned far more about Seguin  **(segs or seggy, idc, ** he’d texted at one point) than he would have thought possible when communicating solely through texts and Snapchat. 

Seguin had two sisters and a mother he adored, was unabashedly in love with his dog, and, judging from the number of pictures Jamie had received where he was wearing only a pair of shorts, he might actually be allergic to clothes.

Not that Jamie was complaining, exactly. But since it seemed rude to jerk off to pictures of a teammate, especially a teammate he hadn't actually met in person yet…

Maybe he was complaining a little.

But the random texts and snaps from Seguin were quickly becoming a part of his routine. Which was why he wasn't surprised by the text he got late in July, just the content.

**dude think im gona drive nsted of fly. beter 4 marshall n i cn bring my car**

It made sense, when Jamie thought about it. No reason for Seguin not to drive, really. There were still weeks before he’d be needed on campus. 

No, what didn’t make sense was Jamie’s response.

**Cool. Want some company?**

He stared at the screen as soon as the message was sent, trying to figure out exactly what had come over him. Just as he was wondering if he could pass it off as being in the wrong conversation, Tyler answered.

**sure! that’d b sweet. u don’t have class?**

And there it was, the out Jamie needed. But backing out now felt like quitting, like backing down. So he took a deep breath and doubled down.

**This is the last week. Maybe the team can pay for me to fly up there and drive back with you. I’ll check**

As usual, Seguin’s response was nearly-instant, succinct, and very him.

**Bad. ass.**

Sighing, Jamie found the number for the coaching office in his recent calls and started trying to figure out how to sell this. Or even if he wanted to sell it.

As it turned out, it took very little actual selling. 

“Good idea, Benn!” Ruff sounded legitimately proud of him for coming up with it. “You two will probably be on a line together, you know. Never too soon to start building team chemistry. Send Amber the details and she’ll book the flight.”

Jamie hung up after a few more pleasantries, feeling a little like he’d stepped through a mirror into an alternate dimension. But he had his orders, so he found a flight that wasn’t ass-early in the morning and emailed the link to Ruff’s secretary, Amber, before bracing himself and texting Jordie.  **So I’m flying to Toronto next week**

**??? ** was the response, since Jordie lived for using punctuation marks and emojis instead of actual words. He and Seguin were probably going to get along much too well for Jamie’s piece of mind. But at least Jordie spelled out most of the words he did use.

**Seguin’s driving down instead of flying. Coach wants me to go help him with the driving**

It must have been a slow day in the athletic department, because Jordie responded instantly again.  **Coach wants, huh? So it was his idea?**

Jamie groaned, cursing his inability to lie to his big brother.  **No, it was mine**

**Already whipped, huh, Chubbs?**

**Fuck off** . Jamie locked his phone a little harder than was strictly necessary. He needed to study for the final in his summer class. He didn’t have time for this right now.

* * *

Jamie walked past the giant baggage carousels and toward the airport exit. Despite the need to weave around people who couldn’t seem to move at a normal pace or move out of the way before stopping dead, it felt good to be stretching his legs after four hours of being crammed into the tiny space airlines felt was reasonable to allot to people.

Hitching his backpack up on his shoulder, he passed through the automatic doors and started looking around. Seguin had insisted that he would come to the airport, eventually overriding Jamie’s equal insistence that he could take a Lyft, it would be fine.

Jamie’s gaze snagged on a guy with his back turned; muscular shoulders and tattoos peeking out from under a t-shirt sleeve. Basically Jamie’s exact type, from what he could see, but he wasn’t here to hit on hot Toronto guys--

Hot Toronto Guy turned around, and Jamie’s brain locked up for a moment when he realized he’d been ogling his new teammate. Which, okay, Seguin had been sending him shirtless selfies for the better part of three weeks now, but that wasn’t flirting. Half of those pictures had been to the group text with Jamie and Jordie. 

“Hey!” Seguin caught his eye, smile stretching easily across his face as he recognized Jamie. 

Jamie took a breath and started walking in that direction. It was just enough time to put Seguin firmly back into the “teammate” category in Jamie’s brain.

So of course Seguin pulled him into a bro hug, his hand big and warm between Jamie’s shoulder blades for a moment before he broke away. “You made it, man! How was your flight?”

Jamie shrugged, hoping against hope that his face wasn’t flaming right now. “You know. Four hours in an airplane seat. At least it was nonstop.”

“Shit, yeah.” Seguin winced sympathetically; he’s only an inch shorter than Jamie, so he probably does know that pain. “Not gonna lie, that’s one of the reasons I decided to drive. More leg room, and we can stop and walk around whenever we need a break.”

“Plus Marshall.” Jamie felt stupid as soon as he said it. Of course the dog was a consideration; Seguin had literally said so.

He seemed to appreciate Jamie remembering, though, if the brightening of his smile was any indication. He pulled open the passenger door of a nondescript dark sedan, gesturing Jamie inside with a flourish. “Yeah, can’t forget Marshall. I can’t wait for you to meet him.”

Despite Jamie's fears, the drive from the airport never got awkward. Or if it did, Seguin didn’t seem to notice or care, chattering about Marshall, pointing out things he was going to miss as they drove past them, or something that reminded him of them. Whenever Jamie’s answers were short or uncertain, it never phased him.

But all the relaxation Jamie had managed to achieve disappeared when they pulled into the driveway of a nice suburban house. Somehow he’d managed to forget that, for this last night, they’d be sleeping in Seguin’s parents’ house. It was like meeting a new billet family all over again. With the added weight of the fact that he was going to be their son’s new captain.

No pressure.

“Come on!” Seguin bounded out of the car, much like an eager puppy himself, only pausing when he realized Jamie wasn’t right behind him. “You can come meet Marshall!”

Taking a breath, Jamie slung his backpack onto his shoulder and followed.

Seguin clattered carelessly into the house without knocking—of course he did, it was his house—leading Jamie into the family room where a familiar chocolate Lab lifted his head from where he’d been napping on the couch.

“There’s my good boy!” Jamie already knew how Seguin’s voice changed when talking to his dog, he’d heard it on every video where Marshall appeared. But in person--it was a lot. Seguin didn’t have as much muscle mass as Jamie, but he was still a hockey player, and not a small one. Seeing him fall to his knees and baby talk at his dog should have been absolutely ridiculous.

Except for how apparently “hot tattooed guy cooing at a dog” was a part of Jamie’s type he’d never realized before. Self-knowledge was awesome.

“Who’s a good boy?” Seguin rubbed Marshall’s belly, smiling over at Jamie with the same warmth and promptly turning Jamie’s stomach upside down.

After Marshall had received the required worship from his owner, he turned his attention to Jamie, jumping down from the couch and trotting over to sniff at his knees. Jamie squatted down, offering his hand. Marshall apparently liked what he smelled, licking at his hand and then nudging his head under it pointedly until Jamie laughed and scratched gently at the top of his head and around his ears.

“He likes you.” Seguin’s voice still had a little of the softness from when he’d been talking to Marshall. That was why Jamie’s stomach did another flip. Not the soft smile he’d aimed at Jamie, although that didn’t help at all. “So you must be a pretty good guy.”

Jamie’s face flamed hot, and he forced himself not to open his mouth until he was sure he wouldn’t stutter. “Or he smells the bacon from my breakfast.”

“Or that.” Seguin waited until Marshall was satisfied with his scritches to get back to his feet. “C’mon, I’ll show you where to put your stuff. Mom wants me to eat dinner here, but after, I was gonna go meet up with some of my boys one more time before I leave. You’ll like them!”

Jamie almost protested, but the only thing more awkward than hanging out with Seguin and his “boys” would be staying behind in Seguin’s parents’ house. By himself. At least if he went with Seguin, there would probably be beer. “Okay.”

“Cool.” Seguin looked back over his shoulder as he headed back toward the entry hall and the staircase there. “My room is upstairs. We’ll have to share, since it’s the one Mom was using for guests while I was at college. But I told her you wouldn’t mind, since we’re gonna be sharing in Dallas. But I can sleep on the couch if you want?”

Yet another thing Jamie hadn’t considered, but Seguin was right. They would be sharing a room for the whole school year in Dallas, not to mention whatever motels they were going to stop at on their drive. 

“Nah, it’s fine.” When he shrugged, his backpack strap tried to escape, so pulling it back up gave him a reason not to look at Seguin. “Like you said, we’re gonna be sharing.”

He looked back up in time to catch the edges of one of those blinding grins. “Sweet.”

Thankfully Seguin had to look away as he walked up the stairs. Of course, following him up put Jamie right at eye level with his ass, and he really needed to get himself under control. What was it about Seguin that made him feel fourteen again, burning up with his first crush and so awkward he wanted to die? 

Objectively, it wasn’t even that great of an ass. Okay, not bad, exactly, but Jamie spent all his time around hockey players. He was used to the kind of glute development all that skating gave a guy, even if he knew better than to look in the locker room. So why was he suddenly feeling slightly lightheaded over an ass that could easily fit in his hands?

They reached the top of the stairs while Jamie was still trying to get himself under control, turning down the short hallway. Seguin pushed open a door to what must be his room, leading Jamie inside and switching on the light. “Not much, but it’s home, for now. Bathroom’s through that door. Don’t worry, I’ll blow up the air bed and sleep on it tonight.”

Jamie had trouble parsing those words until he looked across the room and saw the queen-size bed. It wasn’t that small, and he’d definitely shared a queen with a teammate in the past when the hotels ran out of doubles on a roadie.

But none of those teammates had been as hot as Seguin, or gotten him quite this worked up. The idea of waking up with morning wood in the same bed as Seguin—he forcefully shut down that line of thinking. ”Thanks.”

“Yeah, dude, it’s not a thing.” Seguin pulled off his snapback, running his fingers through hair trying desperately to curl, even though it wasn’t quite long enough. “Think I’m gonna take Marshall for a walk before dinner, then maybe hang out in the pool until dinner. You can come with, or if you’re tired and want to nap or something—”

Jamie shook his head before he thought better of it. Some time by himself in a quiet room was probably a good idea, but after sitting for so long on the plane, and then again in the car, his body was begging for movement. “I sat for so damn long on that plane. Walk sounds good.”

Seguin’s grin flashed again, bright enough to warm Jamie down to his toes. “Sweet. Let’s go get my boy, then.”

This was going to be a problem. Jamie knew it, even as he obediently followed Seguin down the stairs to get Marshall and then out the front door. He needed to get himself under control.

But as he listened to more of Seguin’s chatter, asking the occasional question, he had a sinking feeling that it might already be too late.

* * *

“This is great, huh?” Tyler—he’d insisted on the first name during the course of the afternoon and evening—nearly had to yell to be heard over the thumping bass that filled the club he and his “boys” had dragged Jamie too, even though he’d leaned in so close that his mouth was almost touching Jamie’s ear, his chest against Jamie’s shoulder. 

“Great.” Jamie lifted his second beer, the one he’d been nursing for the better part of an hour, and took another drink. “Having fun?”

Tyler lost his balance for a moment and Jamie moved automatically, catching him before he could tip over onto the slightly sticky floor. Of course, this meant that Tyler was plastered against him for a moment, so close that the heat from his body seeped through the thin layers of their clothes. 

“Dude, you’re like Spider-Man or something!” Tyler looked at him, wide-eyed, their faces only inches apart. 

The tequila scent on his breath all but smacked Jamie in the face and he sighed, relaxing his grip slowly until he was sure that Tyler could stand on his own and let go entirely. “No, you’re just drunk. You’re gonna regret this in the morning when we head out.”

“Probably.” Tyler didn’t move away, just stayed there inside Jamie’s personal space, looking at him with those wide eyes. “You have really nice eyes, you know?”

Jamie froze, a thousand possible responses whirring through his mind, the moment stretching as they held eye contact—

—and then Tyler’s face turned green like he was a character in an old cartoon, one hand clapped over his mouth. 

Sighing, Jamie steered him toward the door, which was closer than the bathrooms. Somehow, miraculously, they made it to the alley outside the club before Tyler lost the battle and his dinner made a reappearance.

Jamie waited, not quite sure what his role was here. After a moment, he pulled out his phone and called a Lyft. No one needed to drink more after that amount of vomiting. 

Finally Tyler straightened, spitting onto the ground with a disgusted twist of his mouth. “Shit. Guess I should call it a night, huh?”

“Probably.” The last thing Jamie wanted was to go back in the club, but the manners his mom had pounded into his head wouldn’t just let it slide. “Do you need to tell them you’re going, or—?”

“Huh?” Tyler looked confused for a second before his gaze cleared. “Oh, nah. They’re drunk enough they might not even remember I was here tonight. Anyway, I’ll text ‘em. Let me call us a Lyft first—”

Jamie waved his phone. “Already did.”

“Shit, you’re on top of it, huh?” Tyler shook his head. “Guess that’s why you’re the captain, huh?”

“Guess so.” Jamie mumbled the words, ducking his head and rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. At least it was too dark in the alley for Tyler to tell he was blushing. Hopefully.

Tyler made a face, turned his head and spit again. “Ugh. Where are they meeting us? Out front?”

Jamie checked the app. Apparently there was a merciful God, because the driver was two minutes away. “Yeah, they’re almost here. Black Accord.”

“Well then.” Tyler settled his snapback more firmly on his head, gesturing grandly toward the front of the club. “After you, Captain.”

They reached the curb just as the black car pulled up, passenger side window rolling down and the driver leaning over to make eye contact. “Jamie?” 

“That’s me.” Jamie opened the back door and held it for Tyler before getting in himself. 

After confirming their destination, the driver made a few conversational gambits, but Jamie was too tired to hold up his end. Tyler must have still been feeling some of the drinks he’d downed, because he sat in what Jamie could already tell was an uncharacteristic silence until they arrived at his parents’ home.

Jamie thanked the driver as he got out, pulling out his phone to leave a tip before he forgot. Either the late hour or the beers must have affected him more than he’d thought, because he nearly walked into Tyler on the front porch. “Shit. Sorry.” He only just remembered to keep his voice quiet, since the rest of the Seguins were probably in bed hours ago.

“No problem. Just gotta find the key—” Tyler sorted through his key ring, tongue peeking out of the corner of his mouth that Jamie probably shouldn’t find adorable. He finally settled on one with a triumphant little sound, but then his hand was wavering too much to get it into the lock on the first try.

“Here, let me—” Jamie meant to take the key from Tyler and open the lock himself, but something malfunctioned between his brain and his hand, because he found himself closing his hand around Tyler’s. Their joined hands guided the key into the lock, turning slowly and carefully until the deadbolt slid open with a quiet click.

It was probably Jamie’s imagination, or Tyler was still drunk, but he didn’t seem to be in any hurry to retrieve his hand, to move out of Jamie’s space. He turned the doorknob with his other hand, careful to make sure the little piece of metal was pulled all the way back before swinging the door open.

They stepped into the entry on quiet feet, moving carefully toward the stairs. Tyler’s foot was actually on the bottom stair when a throat cleared loudly above them, making both of them jump.

“And just where have you been, mister?”

Tyler swore viciously under his breath when he saw his sisters standing at the top of the stairs. “Not funny, Cass.”

“I think it’s hilarious. What do you think?” She turned to their middle sister, who was also grinning ear to ear.

“Definitely. Did you see how high they jumped?”

Tyler shook his head, starting up the stairs. “Brats. You should be in bed.”

“So should you,” Candace retorted, tossing her hair. 

“And that’s where I’m going.” Tyler pushed past them with typical sibling disregard, clearing a path for Jamie. “Go to bed.”

They rolled their eyes simultaneously, but followed down the hall until they came to their own doors, across the hall from Tyler’s. Thankfully they disappeared without any further commentary; Jamie wasn’t quite sure how to deal with someone else’s sisters who were younger than he was.

“‘M gonna brush my teeth real quick.” Tyler waited for Jamie’s nod before disappearing into the bathroom. Not that Jamie would have stopped him; he was honestly amazed Tyler had managed to make it the whole ride home with that taste in his mouth without even a little bit of a reaction. Maybe that was why he’d been so quiet. 

Shrugging, Jamie turned his attention to the neatly folded air bed on the floor. The least he could do was go ahead and get it blown up. Especially since he wasn’t going to want to get back up once he got into bed, and he definitely needed to piss and brush his teeth before that happened.

The air bed was one of the fancy kinds with a built-in pump, so once Jamie found a place to plug it in, all he had to do was watch as it filled. It only took maybe five minutes; he was unplugging the cord and closing the valve when Tyler came back out of the bathroom. 

Shirtless, because fuck Jamie’s entire life.

“Dude, I was gonna do that.” He rubbed a hand over his face.

Jamie shrugged, doing his best not to look at all the skin on display. “I don’t mind. All I did was plug it in and flip the switch.”

“Well, thanks. Bathroom’s all yours.”

Jamie set the cord aside and went to grab his backpack from where it was propped against the wall. He turns back toward the bathroom in time to see Tyler unbuttoning his jeans and reaching for the zipper.

He had no memory of crossing the space to the bathroom and closing the door, but he must have done it, because the next thing he knew he was staring at himself in the mirror. He looked like a startled deer, all wide eyes. 

_ Pull it together _ , he told himself firmly, 

Carefully not thinking about whatever state of undress Tyler might currently be in, Jamie pissed, brushed his teeth, and changed into a pair of basketball shorts and a worn t-shirt with the neck stretched out just how he liked it.

When he finally worked up the nerve to leave the bathroom, Tyler had turned off the overhead light, leaving the room mostly dark. There was enough light seeping in around the edges of the blinds that Jamie could make his way across the room to the bed without tripping over anything.

Of course, that meant that there was also enough ambient light for him to see Tyler, wearing nothing but a pair of nearly skintight boxer briefs, sprawled across the air mattress on his stomach, breathing slowly and evenly.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Jamie rolled over to face the wall. 

He was tired enough that he should have fallen asleep easily, but his mind was racing, full of an endless loop of Tyler. Tyler’s whole face lighting up with a smile.Tyler dancing his dumb white boy dance in the club and still somehow making it look hot. Tyler saying “you have nice eyes” like he actually meant it. Tyler reaching for the zipper on his jeans.

Fuck.

Jamie forced himself to think of something else. Anything else. Their last game against Arkansas last season, the terrifying crunch of his nose breaking, the sudden starburst of pain in his face.

Focusing on the grinding feeling as they’d set his nose was nauseating, but at least he wasn’t hard any more.

Just when he was starting to think that he might actually be able to fall asleep, there was a thunking noise from the floor, followed by a soft curse.

“Tyler?” Jamie rolled over, his eyes searching for Tyler now that they’d adjusted to the dark room. “You okay?”

Tyler sat up, one hand holding his head. “The airbed must have a leak. My ass was on the floor. I’m gonna go sleep on the couch.”

Before Jamie could stop himself, his stupid mouth betrayed him. “It’s a big bed. You can just stay up here.”

“You sure, dude?” He was too far away to make out the expression on Tyler’s face. “The couch is fine.”

“It’s your bed. If anybody’s sleeping on the couch, it should be me.”

Tyler scoffs. “You’re a guest, man, I’m not making you sleep on the couch.”

“Fine. Then shut up and get in the bed.” Jamie didn’t mean to sound so disgruntled, but it was late. And he was tired. And still a little horny, but they needed to leave in a very small number of hours and he just wanted to sleep. “Pretend it’s a roadie and the hotel doesn’t have any doubles.”

“Fair enough.” Tyler staggered to his feet awkwardly, tripping a little over the edge of the air bed as he made his way over. 

Jamie realized, too late, that he should have already turned over to face the wall again. Because now Tyler was lifting the covers and sliding between the sheets, all of those muscles flexing in the dim light as he flopped onto his stomach and slid his arm under the pillow, his face turned toward Jamie.

“Got enough room?” His eyes were closed already, his whisper thick with sleep.

“Y-yeah.” Despite the stutter, Jamie’s whisper didn’t betray him. He hoped.

Tyler yawned, scrunching up his face, and nuzzled his head deeper into the pillow. “‘Kay. Night.”

“Good night.”

Jamie lay in the dark, frozen, until Tyler’s breathing evens out. Despite his best internal pep talk, his eyes were gritty with exhaustion by the time he finally managed to fall asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Tyler woke up slowly, as usual, surfacing from sleep by gradual degrees. The memory of last night, what was left of it, was one of the first to return. He poked at the holes between the bits that remained—drinking, dancing, Jamie's arm around his waist for some reason, warm and solid like his body against Tyler's. Jamie's eyes, looking into his like they were the only people in the room. Had they—?

Tyler winced as he remembered the nausea rising, unstoppable and undeniable. Jamie had taken him outside, he thought. Waited while he vomited and then got him home.

No wonder he was the captain.

Just when Tyler started to feel the bitter taste of shame, that he'd been so far gone, that he'd let his new captain see him like that, ruined whatever good impression he might have made—something more urgent brought itself to his attention.

Specifically, the fact that he wasn't sleeping on the airbed as planned. He was in his bed, and there was a warm leg tangled with his, skin on skin.

Fuck.

How the fuck could he be so stupid? Getting wasted last night was bad enough, but Jamie was a college guy too. Surely he wouldn't judge on the basis of one night. But this? Coming on to his new teammate, probably his new linemate, his  _ captain _ , for fuck’s sake—

The worst part was that he couldn’t remember it. Probably the only chance he was going to have with Jamie, after what he’d seen last night, and no matter how hard he tried, no fragments of memory surfaced. Tyler wanted to bury his face in the pillow and scream, but that would wake Jamie up.

Fuck his entire life, honestly.

Unfortunately, Tyler couldn’t stay in this bed for the rest of his life, and willing himself to die of embarrassment wasn’t working. Taking a breath, he opened his eyes.

Jamie was still asleep, thank fuck, surprisingly long lashes fanned out over his cheekbones. For a moment, Tyler indulged himself, just letting himself look like he hadn’t been able to since they first met at the airport.

He’d looked Jamie up, of course, once he’d gotten that first text. But promo shots and game tape hadn’t been enough to prepare him for the impact of Jamie Benn in person. He wasn’t much taller than Tyler—they’d been nearly eye-to-eye in the club last night—but he was solid muscle. Massive in every sense of the word, in a way Tyler never managed no matter how much food he stuffed in his face or how many weights he lifted.

When Tyler realized that Jamie was still wearing a shirt, the breath rushed out of him in relief, mingled equally with regret. Whatever had led them to end up in the same bed, it wasn’t sex.

Of course it wasn’t. Jamie was solid, a good Canadian boy. He wouldn’t fuck around with a new teammate, even if he was into guys. Probably had a nice little Texas girlfriend back at school, waiting for him to come back and take her out on nice dates. 

Before Tyler could go any further down that spiraling mental path, Jamie’s breathing changed, his eyelids fluttering. Tyler closed his quickly, blinking them open just as Jamie was doing the same thing.

He could see the exact moment when Jamie recognized Tyler, realized where he was. He didn’t quite jerk back from Tyler, but he did move his leg until they weren’t touching anywhere. “Sorry.” His voice was rough with sleep as he rolled toward the wall, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Guess I’m not used to sharing.”

“It’s fine.” Tyler tore his eyes away from Jamie’s bicep, flexing as his arm moved. “Was I too drunk for the airbed?”

Jamie blinked at him for a moment before catching on to Tyler’s lack of memory. “Oh. No, it had a leak. You were going to go down to the couch, but it’s a big bed. I wasn’t gonna make you sleep on the couch in your own house.”

“You’re a guest, I’m not gonna make you sleep on the couch either.” Tyler didn’t have to think to come up with this response, which was good, since most of his attention was caught by the pink flush covering Jamie’s cheekbones. “But thanks. The couch is okay, but the girls like to wake me up by jumping on me.”

Jamie laughed sitting up and running his fingers through his hair, trying to tame it back into something like the over gelled style he’d had yesterday. “Yeah, I used to do that to Jordie and Jenny. Guess it’s a younger sibling thing.”

Tyler made a face at him. “Of course you’d be on their side.”

Part of him was vaguely surprised at how easy this was, trading quips even though they were still in the same bed. Honestly, he thought he deserved some kind of pat on the back for being able to carry on a conversation with Jamie all sleep-rumpled, the stretched-out, chewed neck of his t-shirt dipping down enough to let Tyler see his collarbones and a little peek of chest hair.

_ Captain _ , he reminded himself.  _ Teammate. Do not hit on your fucking captain, Tyler, you idiot.  _

“You okay?” Jamie’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts, sounding genuinely concerned. Of course. Because Jamie was a nice guy who wasn’t sitting here thinking increasingly dirty thoughts about his teammate.

“Yeah.” Tyler scrunched the covers a little more over his lap, since his cock wasn’t interested in good ideas right now. “Just—brain isn’t quite online yet, you know?”

Jamie nodded, stretching his arms up over his head. And of course his t-shirt rode up with the movement, baring a little strip of skin above the waistband of his basketball shorts, because the universe wanted Tyler to suffer. “Yeah. I’m surprised your head isn’t killing you after last night.”

Tyler forced his hands not to clench in the covers. “I had a big glass of water after I brushed my teeth. I’ll be fine.”

“Good call.” Jamie beamed that approving grin at him again, which shouldn’t make him even harder, but apparently it did. Whatever. “Guess I’ll shower and once you’re ready we can load up your stuff and get going. Unless you want to shower first?”

There were a lot of things Tyler wanted right now, but none of them—well, almost none of them—involved taking a shower. And he wasn’t about to get out of bed in front of Jamie, not in this state. “Nah, go ahead. Towels are in the cabinet.”

“Thanks.” Jamie swung his legs over the other side of the bed, walking over to where he’d left his backpack and picking it up. “I won’t take too long.”

“Take your time.” Tyler meant that with utmost sincerity. 

Jamie flashed him a thumbs-up and disappeared into the bathroom without turning around.

The door clicked closed behind him, but Tyler stayed where he was, listening to the lock turn, the toilet flush, the shower turn on.

Not until he heard the rattle of the shower curtain being pulled back did he dare move. And then he had to move fast, because who knew how much time he had before Jamie came back out?

Fortunately, or unfortunately, this wasn't going to take long.

The sound of the bedside drawer opening seemed excruciatingly loud, but that was just paranoia talking. Thankfully he'd been smart enough not to pack his lube yet, so he was able to quickly grab it and a couple of tissues from the box next to the bed.

When he pulled the covers down, his cock was straining against the fabric of his boxer-briefs. Dragging the elastic waistband down to release it, he wasted no time slicking up his hand and wrapping it around the base, sighing with relief.

He tried, honestly he did. He tried, as he stroked himself, to think about nothing, about the last porn he watched, about one of the random people he'd danced with last night. But no matter what he tried, his idiot brain kept circling back to Jamie.

What would Jamie have done if Tyler hadn't vomited? Would he have let Tyler kiss him, maybe pushed him up against the wall and kissed him back?

Would he have let Tyler touch him in the back of the Lyft, down low where the driver couldn't see, teasing him until they were both burning up with it? Or would he have made them wait until they were safely alone in Tyler's room, until he could strip Tyler down, get those big hands all over him--

Tyler barely had enough warning to catch it in the tissue when he came.

He lay there, thoughts slow and dumb with the aftermath of his orgasm, until the water turned off. And then he was busy scrambling to get his dick put away and look like he hadn't just been jerking off.

When Jamie emerged, flushed pink from the shower, toweling off his hair, Tyler was ready to slip past him. He would have thought the orgasm would take the edge off, but he still had to force himself not to stare at the water droplets traveling down Jamie's neck to disappear under yet another stretched-out collar.

_ Get it together, _ he ordered himself, mechanically going through the motions of his morning piss.  _ You can't spend the whole school year jerking off to him. You're going to be sharing a room, for fuck’s sake. _

But then he stepped into the shower and it smelled like Jamie, like the faint scent Tyler hadn't even realized he'd noticed, and Tyler's cock got hard again so fast he felt dizzy.

Seriously. Fuck his life.

* * *

Tyler’s mom insisted on making them breakfast. Jamie was too polite to refuse, and Tyler—it was suddenly sinking in that he’d be spending the better part of a year more than 2,000 kilometers away from home.

One last breakfast sounded good.

Once they couldn’t eat any more, they loaded up Tyler’s car with the things he was taking, took Marshall for one last walk, and then Tyler was hugging his mom, dad, and sisters. He was almost nineteen, but somehow this felt harder than leaving for Boston.

Finally they were on the road, navigating out of the GTA and making their way south. Jamie didn’t seem to feel the need to make conversation, and for once, neither did Tyler. He wasn’t sure he could talk right now, with the lump in his throat. So they drove in silence except for the playlist Tyler had put together especially for this drive.

By the time they merged onto the 401, though, he was feeling a little better, relaxing back into his seat and settling in for the long haul. Some of that may have been Marshall’s nose poking curiously out of the back seat, trying to see everything he could. A lot of things about Dallas were going to be new, but at least he got to have Marshall with him.

“You still good with the route?” He kept most of his attention on the road, but watched Jamie out of the corner of his eye.

“Yeah, it’s fine.” Jamie shrugged. “It’s your car, you know. I’m just here for the ride.”

Tyler scoffed. “You literally flew to another country to help me move. I think you get a little bit of a say.”

Jamie ducked his head, just a little. Tyler couldn’t be sure without turning to look at him, but he thought that pink was back in his cheeks again. “Not like I had a lot going on with classes over.”

“Still. Thanks, man.”

Jamie shrugged. “I think it’ll be fun. I’ve never been to any of those places either.”

“I keep meaning to ask, how did you end up in Texas, of all places?”

“Same way you did.” Jamie’s mouth quirked at the corner. 

Tyler shook his head, but he kind of enjoyed the fact that, under that Good Canadian Boy exterior, Jamie was a sarcastic little shit. “Dude, I’ve seen your game tape. You’re good. Why aren’t you playing in the NCAA? Or going for the draft?”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them. It was none of his business, and he sounded like a complete dick. Way to start off a twenty-two hour road trip, by pissing off his new captain. 

But when he sneaked a look, Jamie didn’t seem pissed, just surprised. “I—that’s nice, but when I started, I still needed a lot of development.”

“Well, you got it. I saw this one game—against Arkansas, I think? And you just like, forechecked their D out of the way—”

Jamie grinned. “Yeah, that was a fun game. I’m not really a center, though. I do better on the wing.”

Tyler grinned back, forcing himself to get his eyes back on the road. “Sounds like you could use a new center.”

“Maybe so.” 

Jamie’s laugh was adorable. Tyler was aware that he had it bad, okay, but experience had taught him there was nothing to be done in these situations except to wait it out. 

So he might as well relax and enjoy the ride.

* * *

They drove until the gas gauge started getting low, pulling over to fill the tank and stretch their legs. Marshall enjoyed the break, too, sniffing at the narrow stretch of grass for a couple of minutes before doing his business. 

Loading up on snacks, they got back on the road, with Jamie behind the wheel this time. It was nice to relax, not to have to watch the road. Traffic hadn’t been super heavy, but Tyler always felt a little tense when he was driving with Marshall in the car. So this was nice, being able to kick off his shoes and curl up in the passenger seat, reaching back occasionally to scratch Marshall behind the ears.

Plus he got to look at Jamie as much as he wanted, which was apparently a lot.

He also discovered that Jamie did, in fact, have a flaw, when Tyler generously allowed him to play his own music, since he was the one driving.

“Country?” Tyler picked up the phone, scrolling through the playlist in hopes of finding something else, but no, it was country all the way down. “Really, dude?”

“I’m from the Island.” Jamie didn’t seem that disturbed by Tyler’s disdain; actually, he looked amused, that little smile playing around the corners of his mouth. “But if you’d rather, I can put on some show tunes. I love musicals.”

Tyler’s mouth fell open and it took him a couple of minutes to close it. “You’re shitting me.”

Jamie smirked in his direction. “Would I do that?”

“You.” Tyler pointed an accusing finger at him. “You do the ‘oh, I’m just a good Canadian boy from the Island’ thing but you’re actually a little shit. I’m onto you, Benn.”

That got him a laugh, just as adorable as the first time. “I really do like musicals,” Jamie said. “And country.”

“But?”

He glanced sidelong at Tyler. “But I also like other stuff sometimes.”

"I knew it!" Tyler valiantly resisted the urge to waggle his eyebrows and make a dirty joke out of it. Score one point for Mature Tyler.

It still counted even if he thought it, right?

* * *

The rest of the day passed in a timeless haze. Sometimes it seemed like they'd always been driving, that they would always be driving. But if Tyler actually was stuck in some driving forever Twilight Zone—well, he could think of worse company.

Eventually, though, they navigated their way through Cincinnati to the pet-friendly  [ hotel ](https://www.hotels.com/ho108363/) where they had a reserved room. It wasn't anything special when they finally got into their room, just like every other hotel room, but all they really needed was a place to sleep where Marshall could come in with them.

Tyler unhooked Marshall's leash once the door closed behind them, flopping face first across the nearest bed. It felt so good to be able to stretch out; his car had decent leg room, but after eight hours of driving, he was kind of over it.

"You know those bedspreads are like, super gross, right?" Jamie pulled the bedspread on his bed down to the foot, leaving only the thin blanket and sheet underneath.

Tyler rolled into his back, stretching his arms above his head. "Yeah, well. I'm not exactly fresh as a daisy myself."

"You want a shower?" Jamie smiled down at him with an expression Tyler couldn't quite parse.

Suddenly Tyler had the almost irresistible urge to drag Jamie down onto the bed with him, to kiss and fuck and make the bedspread even more disgusting. But those impulses were exactly the kind of thing that had gotten him flunked out of BU. It was time for New Tyler. Mature Tyler.

What had Jamie been saying again? Oh, yeah. A shower wouldn’t be the worst thing, but it wouldn’t get rid of the restlessness fizzing through his body. “Nah, not yet. Think I’m gonna go down to the fitness center, run or something, maybe jump in the pool after. Tired of sitting, you know?”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. Mind company?” 

That was an easy one, even if seeing Jamie all sweaty and flushed from working out was going to be torture. “Dude, I know we haven’t known each other all that long, but I pretty much always want company. Let’s do it.”

“Cool.”

They’d both pretty much dressed in workout clothes for comfort while driving, basketball shorts and t-shirts, so after making sure Marshall had water in his travel bowl, they headed to the elevator. Jamie stopped them to get a couple of water bottles and Gatorades from the vending machine, because he was smart enough to think of it now, unlike Tyler, who wouldn’t have considered hydration until he was halfway through his run.

The fitness center was the same basic equipment as every hotel, nothing fancy. But that was okay. Tyler just needed to crank some tunes and run, run until he’d purged this restless energy, run until he could forget all the ways he’d fucked up in the past and was likely to fuck up again.

Run until he could get over his most ill-advised crush of all time.

Thankfully Jamie seemed on board with the running part, putting in his own earbuds and stepping onto the treadmill next to Tyler without any further conversation.

Despite his need to move, Tyler forced himself to start slow. The last thing he needed was to pull something. With his luck, he’d end up having to miss half the season, and then he wouldn’t even be able to play club hockey.

He felt bad as soon as he thought it. Thank fuck Jamie couldn’t hear his thoughts. For a lot of fucking reasons. Jamie had been so nice from the beginning, never treating Tyler like the fuckup he was. Always acting like he actually wanted to talk to Tyler, like he cared what Tyler had to say.

Good thing he had no idea how fucked up Tyler was inside his head.

Finally, his muscles had warmed up, loose and ready to move. He cranked up the volume on his phone, cranked the speed on the treadmill, and ran like he could escape his thoughts if he tried hard enough.

When his legs finally tapped out on him, he was gulping air like he’d just been bag-skated. Which made sense, he guessed, since he’d basically bag-skated himself. His shirt was plastered to him with sweat, his head hot under his snapback. 

He reached out with a shaking hand, turning down the speed until he could walk, letting his muscles cool down. After a few steps, he couldn’t take the wet, clinging fabric of his t-shirt, so he pulled out his earbuds and stripped it off over his head, dropping it to the floor next to the treadmill.

A noise from his left reminded him that he wasn’t alone. When he glanced over, Jamie’s eyes snapped up to his face like they’d been magnetized, his eyes wide and dark.

Tyler returned the look for a long, long moment before he could remind himself of all the reasons this was a bad idea. He forced himself to look forward, at the TV that was showing some news story he didn’t give a fuck about, his legs moving automatically.

“About ready for the pool?” He was proud of how normal his voice sounded, just breathless from the workout. He could do this. He could be rational and mature and not just jump his new captain because he had a dumb crush.

“Yeah, I think so.” Jamie was a little breathless, too. When Tyler stole a peek at him out of the corner of his eye, he was flushed pink, lifting the hem of his shirt to wipe sweat off his face.

So maybe it turned into a very long peek. Tyler was only human, after all. But then Jamie let the shirt fall back down, covering all that back up, and Tyler was able to act like he wasn’t being entirely led around by his dick.

They wiped down the machines and went back to their room to rinse off the sweat and change into their trunks. It was only when Tyler was sitting on the foot of his bed, waiting for Jamie to finish changing, that he realized exactly how terrible an idea this was. If just a peek at Jamie’s chest and stomach had short-circuited his brain, how was he supposed to deal with Jamie in nothing but a pair of swim trunks?

The bathroom door opened while he was still bracing himself. And yeah, it was just as bad as he’d thought. Jamie was thick all over, broad shoulders and chest and arms still flushed from his run, leftover water droplets trickling down toward the waistband of his trunks. He wasn’t cut like Tyler, but muscles flexed under his skin and flesh with every movement.

Jamie’s hands fluttered toward his stomach and then clenched at his sides as Tyler realized he’d been staring.

“Ready?” He got to his feet without waiting for an answer, 

“Maybe I should grab a shirt—”

Tyler couldn’t have stopped the surprise in his voice if he’d tried. “Dude, why?”

He couldn’t be sure, but he thought Jamie’s face flushed even darker. “You know, I’ve got this gut—”

Tyler almost laughed before he realized Jamie was serious. “Bro, no. Don’t even. You’re a fucking college athlete, come on.”

“You look like a college athlete.” Jamie gestured vaguely in Tyler’s direction. “I look like, I dunno.”

It took every bit of willpower Tyler possessed not to forget about the pool and show Jamie exactly how much he liked his body. Being Mature Tyler sucked.

“Let’s go get in the pool,” he said instead. “And then food. Come on, no shirt. You look good, I promise.”

Jamie looked skeptical, but he let Tyler herd him out of the room without a shirt on, so that had to count as a win, right?

The pool wasn’t very big, but it was big enough. They slid in and splashed around a little in the deep end, away from the kids playing by the steps. 

Tyler quickly realized that wrestling and trying to dunk Jamie like he would with Brownie or Blacker or one of his other friends wasn’t a great idea if he wanted to continue being Mature Tyler. 

Bad enough for their bodies to be rubbing up against each other as they wrestled, nothing but the thin fabric of their trunks between them. But Jamie was exactly as strong as he looked, maybe stronger. And the kids playing around didn’t need to see Tyler getting a boner when Jamie pinned him to the side of the pool.

Even if he was probably going to be jerking off to that memory for the rest of his life.

So Tyler did the smart thing, swimming back and forth with lazy strokes before turning onto his back and trying to float. But before long, his stomach started making demands, emptied by the run and their shenanigans in the water.

He sighed, getting his feet under him and looking around for Jamie. While he’d been floating, Jamie had made his way over to sit on the side of the pool, legs still hanging in the water as he rubbed a towel over his hair.

Tyler swam over, grabbing onto the edge. “Dinner? I’m starving.”

“Yeah, me too. Let’s do it.” Jamie pushed up to his feet

Bracing his hands on the side of the pool, Tyler muscled himself up until he could climb out. Yeah, okay, it was more showy than swimming back to the shallow end and taking the ladder, but it was faster, right? Right.

Definitely not something he did just to show off.

Maybe he needed a little more practice being Mature Tyler.

* * *

Once they got back from dinner—stuffing their faces at Chipotle should not have felt like a date, but every time their knees had bumped under the table, Tyler had to fight not to blush—Tyler claimed the shower to rinse off the chlorine residue on his skin, leaving Jamie to flip aimlessly through the channels. 

He’d been too hungry to bother with a shower between the pool and dinner, but now he couldn’t stand it anymore, the dry stretchy feeling on his skin. And they didn’t have anywhere else to be tonight. Tyler could take his time, stand under the pounding spray and let his mind empty.

Or try to, anyway. As seemed to be the case so often these days, his mind circled back to Jamie. And, well, this was probably going to be his last chance to jerk off in privacy until they found their hotel tomorrow night.

Tyler squeezed the little bottle of hotel conditioner into his palm, anticipation simmering under his skin. Wrapping his hand around his cock, he braced his free hand on the shower wall and closed his eyes.

He was fully hard almost instantly, even before he called up the memory of wrestling with Jamie in the pool, Jamie’s skin slick against his, Jamie’s chest hair catching on his nipples and making him suck in a breath.

Jamie pinning him against the side of the pool, those big hands wrapped around his wrists, Jamie’s body plastered up against his back, no space between them.

In his mind they were naked, nothing between them, skin sliding on skin. In his mind, Jamie pushed inside him slowly, inexorably, holding him in place when he writhed. Making him take it, fucking him until tears gathered at the corner of his eyes, until he was sobbing out pleas, begging to come.

Tyler wasn’t entirely sure that he didn’t actually beg out loud as he came. Thank fuck the water running would have drowned it out.

He stared at the shower wall once he could open his eyes. Hopefully this road trip would be enough for him to work through his little problem, but he had a sinking feeling it was going to be a long-ass season.

* * *

Tyler hadn’t originally planned to stop in Nashville for long, but they had time. And he couldn’t deny enjoying the look on Jamie’s face when they pulled into the parking lot and Tyler led him to the door of the Johnny Cash Museum.

He could have had a good time just watching how excited Jamie was, but honestly, it was pretty cool. Country wasn’t really Tyler’s jam, but even he acknowledged that Johnny Cash was a fucking legend. And the museum was really cool inside, dim with spotlights shining on the exhibits. There was a wall lined with old vinyl records, with the covers on the wall opposite. 

The outfits, both the ones on the record covers and the ones on display in the glass cases, were a trip, as even Jamie could acknowledge. Although Tyler was pretty sure he caught Jamie giving a longing look to one particularly garish shirt.

Once they’d seen everything there was to be seen, they walked across the street to a restaurant with a patio for Marshall. Tyler ordered one of the best steaks he’d ever had, although Jamie insisted that they had better ones in Texas.

By the time they finished eating, Tyler was stuffed full, content to curl up in the passenger seat and drowse as Jamie navigated them out of downtown Nashville. He fell asleep to the sound of Jamie humming along to “I Walk The Line.” 

When he woke, startled awake by Marshall’s nose in his ear, the sun was sinking down toward the horizon in front of them and they were driving through a different city. 

“Where are we?” He stretched as best he could, shaking off the mostly-forgotten dream remnants—Jamie had been some kind of cowboy, he thinks.

“Memphis.” Jamie paused to listen to Google tell him where to turn. "We should be at the motel in like ten minutes." 

"Dude, you should have woken me up." Tyler rubbed his eyes. "I could've driven part."

Jamie shrugged. "It was barely 3 hours. I didn't mind. Marshall's good company."

Marshall's tail thumped against the back seat when he heard his name. Tyler reached back automatically to pet him, trying to ignore the feeling of warmth in his chest. It didn't mean anything, that Jamie liked Marshall or vice versa. His brain was just latching on to anything it could to prolong this stupid crush.

Thankfully Jamie seemed to be too busy navigating toward their hotel to notice Tyler's uncharacteristic silence. 

When they got out of the car in the hotel parking lot, Marshall pulled hopefully on the leash, trying to move Tyler toward the bushes around the edges.

"Here." Jamie scooped the leash out of his hand before he had time to react. "Go check us in, since the room's in your name. I'll take him to do his business."

Tyler hesitated for a second, but Marshall was already pulling Jamie along, making him laugh.

_ He's a good guy,  _ Tyler reminded himself.  _ Helpful. This doesn't mean he's into you. _

And then he went into the hotel and got them checked in, because that's what Mature Tyler would do.

He was really starting to hate that guy.


	3. Chapter 3

Jamie had known even before he flew into Toronto that this was probably a dumb idea, okay? But he'd made the offer and there was definitely something to be said for getting to know his new liney better. Not to mention making sure said liney didn't drive himself into a ditch because he was too tired to be behind the wheel.

So yeah, there were good reasons to do it, no matter what Jordie said. And Jamie was perfectly capable of controlling himself around a hot guy (again, no matter what Jordie said).

At least, he'd thought so. Before Tyler.

He had a feeling he was going to be thinking like that for the rest of his life. Before Tyler vs. After Tyler.

Before Tyler, he'd noticed guys, found them hot. Dated some, had sex.

After Tyler. Well. He must have felt like this before, this searing, overwhelming attraction. He can't remember it, but he must have.

If they hadn't been sharing rooms, and sometimes a bed, ever since they met, Jamie's pretty sure his cock would be changed by now with how much he'd be jerking off. As it is, he'd had to give up pretending he wasn't thinking of Tyler ever since that first morning in his house—in his bed—where Jamie had barely managed to make it to the shower before getting a hand on himself.

And it wasn’t just that he was hot—although he was. But Jamie had met hot guys before, including some who had clearly been skating on their looks for awhile. Tyler—Tyler loved his family. Tyler took him to the Johnny Cash Museum even though he thought country music was dumb. Tyler was willing to share a room with a complete stranger for a year so he could have his dog with him.

It was possible that Jamie hadn’t thought this through well enough.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, pulling him out of his train of thought, which was probably just as well. Transferring Marshall’s leash to his other hand, he dug it out of his pocket.

For a moment when he saw Jordie’s face on the screen, he considered not answering the call. But Jordie would just keep calling and texting, because he had finely honed older brother instincts, so Jamie swiped to answer with a sigh. “What.”

“Chubbs!” Jordie sounded entirely too cheerful, in the way that never boded well for Jamie. “How’s the road trip? You and your new boytoy getting some quality time in?”

“Fuck off.” Jamie allowed Marshall to pull him along to yet another shrub that needed investigating. “Did you need something, or were you just calling to chirp me?”

Jordie laughed. “Can’t I just want to check on my baby brother? Gotta make sure you’re not dead in a ditch. Mom would kick my ass.”

“You’d deserve it.” Jamie sighed. “We’re fine. Made it to Memphis, checking in to the hotel now. We’ll be there tomorrow night sometime.”

“Good. Seguin hasn’t compromised your virtue or tried to peer-pressure you into doing drugs yet? Remember, just say no, Jamie. Once you give someone your precious flower—” 

The noise that came out of Jamie’s mouth was one he’d never heard before. Marshall lifted his leg to piss, as if to punctuate the ridiculousness of the conversation, then started towing Jamie toward the hotel entrance. “I’m hanging up now. I’ll text you when we’re close.”

Not for the first time, Jamie missed having the option to slam a phone receiver down in someone’s ear. Hitting the “End Call” button sometimes just didn’t cut it.

Tyler came out of the sliding doors when Jamie and Marshall were barely halfway across the parking lot. He looked—Jamie hadn’t known Tyler long enough to really parse his body language, but something was definitely off.

“Everything okay?” 

Tyler shrugged, running his hand through his hair and settling his snapback back onto his head. “Yeah, just—somebody fucked up the reservation.”

“We need to find a new place?” Jamie started to reach for his phone.

“Nah, just—they put us in a king room. And they don’t have anything else open.” Tyler crouched down to pet Marshall, still not meeting Jamie’s eyes.

It took a moment for the implications to sink in for Jamie. He knew things like this happened—go on enough roadies, stay in enough hotels, and you ran into just about every situation possible. 

But it still seemed like the universe was fucking with him.

“No worries.” Despite his internal turmoil, his voice sounded pretty normal somehow. “I mean, your bed was just a queen and we did fine, right?”

“Yeah.” Tyler bounced to his feet and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I just feel like a dick, man. You’re helping me out and you keep getting stuck like this.”

And despite everything, Jamie was almost grateful that Tyler was freaking out. Because if he was making Tyler feel better, then he didn’t have enough mental space to be freaking out. Or something like that.

“Really, it’s cool.” He started shepherding Marshall and Tyler back to the car, because it was hot and humid and his clothes were starting to stick to him. “But if it makes you feel better, you can pay for the beer tonight.”

Tyler brightened, which probably shouldn’t make Jamie feel as good as it did, but whatever. “Deal.”

Unlike last night, this place had outside access to the rooms, so they had to get back in the car and drive it to where they could actually park. Marshall was dubious, though, so Tyler walked him over to the room while Jamie took the key and drove the car the 50 meters or so to the closest parking spot.

He probably ought to have waited for Tyler and Marshall, but the sweat situation was becoming pretty unpleasant and also he needed to piss pretty badly. So he gathered up his backpack and the duffel Tyler had been using on the trip, locked the car, and headed inside.

The first blast of chilled air hit him like sweet relief, like the shock of diving into a cold lake on a hot day. He shivered a little with the contrasting sensations, dropped their bags in the first out-of-the-way spot he found, and booked it to the bathroom.

The outer door opened and closed right before he flushed the toilet, and he could hear Tyler talking to Marshall in that stupid baby voice that shouldn’t be so cute as he moved around the room.

Suddenly, Jamie couldn’t stand the half-dried sweat on his skin any longer. He opened the door and stuck his head out. “Cool if I shower before dinner?” 

“Yeah, dude, take your time. They’re doing a Fast & the Furious marathon, so I’m good.” Tyler flashed him a thumbs-up from where he was sprawled across the bed, already shirtless, because of course he was.

“Cool.” Jamie closed the door and locked it, autopiloting through stripping his clothes off and stepping into the shower. He didn’t even realize until the first lukewarm spray hit his skin that he hadn’t grabbed his backpack.

Groaning softly, he resigned himself to walking out of the bathroom in a towel. Tyler would be sharing a locker room with him in like, a month, he reminded himself. He’d see Jamie in a towel all the time.

Of course, this also meant that Jamie would see Tyler in a towel all the time. Or less, God help him. Given how Tyler seemed to be allergic to shirts and absolutely shameless about his body—not that he needed to be, Jesus—it was entirely too easy to imagine Tyler wandering around the locker room buck-ass naked.

And—Jamie was hard, because of course he was. He had no idea why he was surprised by this. At least he was already in the shower.

Actually, jerking off now was probably a good idea. Maybe he could exhaust his cock enough that it wouldn’t embarrass him tonight or tomorrow morning. Sure, it was unlikely, but at this point, Jamie was absolutely willing to grasp at straws.

Wrapping his hand just below the head where his foreskin was already pulled back, he closed his eyes and let himself imagine.

_ Tyler came out of the showers completely naked, rubbing a towel over his hair. “Everybody else gone?” _

_ “Yeah.” Jamie finished pulling up his sweats, trying to keep his eyes on Tyler’s face.  _

_ Tyler seemed to have no such goal, letting his eyes rake slowly down Jamie’s bare chest as he sauntered closer, down to his bare feet and then back up. Jamie felt the look like a touch, dragging over his skin “Just you and me, huh?” _

_ Jamie swallowed, his mouth gone dry. “Looks like.”  _

_ He lost his breath when Tyler came to a stop only centimeters away, well inside his personal space. So close that all Jamie would have to do was lift a hand to touch Tyler’s naked skin, radiating warmth between their bodies. _

_ “Good game tonight.” He murmured the words, lifting a hand to brush Jamie’s hair back out of his eyes. “You deserve a reward. Captain.” _

_ Jamie couldn’t help leaning into that hand on his face, just a little. When he finally remembered how to speak, his voice was rough. “A reward?” _

_ Tyler ran his hands down Jamie’s arms, a featherlight touch that raised goosebumps on his skin. When he got to Jamie’s wrists, he guided Jamie’s hands across the space between them to rest on his hips. “Yeah. Whatever you want.” _

_ “Fuck.” Jamie’s hands flexed without his input, fingers digging in just a little as his eyes fluttered closed for a second, all the blood in his body draining into his cock. “You—” _

_ “Me.” Tyler met his gaze when Jamie’s eyes opened again, tongue flicking out to swipe at his lips, the only sign of nerves Jamie had seen so far. “I mean, if you—if you don’t want, it’s cool—” _

_ Jamie dragged him closer until they were plastered together, not a breath of space between them, and stopped Tyler’s babbling with his mouth. _

_ Tyler practically melted into the kiss, letting Jamie take the lead but kissing back hot and wet and hungry. He whimpered softly when Jamie got a hand in his hair to find a better angle, then again when Jamie pulled it on purpose. _

_ Jamie had never regretted needing to breathe as much as he did right now. But Tyler made the best noises when Jamie nipped at his earlobe or scraped teeth over the side of his neck, so it wasn’t a complete loss. _

_ The memory of Tyler’s words seeped through the haze of lust fogging his brain and Jamie shuddered again. “Whatever I want?”  _

_ Tyler nodded. “Anything, Jamie, please—”  _

_ Jamie’s mind whirled with possibilities. “I’d fuck you, but there’s no lube.” _

_ “My bag.” Tyler flushed darker, his skin going hotter under Jamie’s lips. “Outside pocket. Condom too.” _

_ If possible, Jamie got even harder at the evidence that Tyler had planned this. That he wanted it. _

_ Retrieving the lube and condom only took a moment, but Jamie resented the time spent not touching Tyler. He might have been a little rough, a little too eager when he got back, manhandling Tyler around until he was positioned just so, but Tyler didn’t seem to mind. _

_ Once he was satisfied, he took a moment to appreciate the sight as he grabbed the lube. Tyler looked like porn, kneeling on the bench in front of Jamie’s locker, leaning forward slightly to grip the upper shelf with both hands. The smooth, muscled plane of his back arched down, pushing his ass out toward Jamie.  _

_ He threw an impatient look over his shoulder at Jamie as the moment stretched out. “Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” _

_ “Don’t tempt me.” Jamie closed the distance between them, slicking up his fingers. He’d planned to go slowly, to draw it out, but his finger sank in easily, sliding up to the knuckles in one stroke. “Did you—” _

_ “Fingered myself in the shower.” Tyler’s head dropped down between his arms, his breath coming faster as Jamie added a second finger, just as smooth and easy as the first. “C’mon, Jamie, you’re not gonna break me, just fuck me.” _

_ Jamie slapped his ass with his clean hand, not hard, but Tyler moaned all the same. “You said whatever I want.” _

_ “Yeah, okay.” Tyler sucked in a breath, his whole body going taut when Jamie curled his fingers to brush the tips over his prostate. “Fuck, Jamie, please—” _

_ Part of Jamie wanted to drag it out further, see how far he could push Tyler, but most of him wanted to be fucking him already. So he rolled the condom on, slicking himself up and pushing into Tyler. _

_ He bottomed out in one long, endless thrust, Tyler hot and slick and tight around him. And then he couldn’t hold out any longer, fucking Tyler with hard, merciless thrusts, his eyes nearly rolling back in his head at how good it felt. _

_ “Fuck, Jamie—” Tyler sounded like he was sobbing, his knuckles white where he braced himself on the shelf. “I’m so fucking close, please, just touch me, please—” _

_ “If you want to come, you’re gonna come just like this.” Jamie didn’t stop moving. “Come on my cock, all over my stall, just from me fucking you.”  _

_ Tyler shook his head, his body drawn tight. “I can’t, Jamie, I can’t, please—” _

_ “You’re gonna do what I tell you.” Some part of Jamie couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of his mouth, but most of him was riding high, chasing his own orgasm. “Come, Tyler.” _

_ He obeyed, clamping tight around Jamie and coming with a wailing noise. The tight clutch of his body dragged Jamie’s orgasm out of him, too, leaving him weak-kneed and shaking. _

Jamie shuddered through the last of the aftershocks, the water suddenly feeling cold against his overheated skin. It took a couple of tries, but he finally managed to reach over and turn the knob to warm it up.

Now he just had to figure out how to look Tyler in the eye when he went back out there.

* * *

Jamie took a breath and opened the bathroom door. He carefully wasn’t looking at Tyler as he crossed to where he’d dropped his backpack, the thin hotel towel scratching at his skin with every step. 

He wanted to take the bag into the bathroom to get dressed, but that seemed a little overly precious, considering the whole “going to share a locker room” thing. Of course, thinking about the locker room made him flash back to his fantasy. The only saving grace was that it was too soon for him to get hard again, although his dick made a valiant effort.

Taking a deep breath, Jamie forced himself to step into his boxers and pull them up. Dropping the towel with them on didn’t feel quite as vulnerable, and he was able to get dressed the rest of the way without incident.

When he turned back around, Tyler was still watching the movie—cars screeched dangerously around corners on the TV screen, engines revving. Probably he hadn’t even looked at Jamie—he’d been in just as many locker rooms, he knew the rules.

Tyler looked a little warm still, though, his face red with a flush that spread down his chest, which was probably why he hadn’t put a shirt on yet. 

“You want the shower?” 

The question actually got Tyler to look at him. Jamie did his best not to squirm under that look, to blurt our what he'd been doing and ask for forgiveness. 

“Uh, not right now. Maybe after dinner.”

“Cool.” Jamie sat down on the foot of the bed to put on his shoes. “Gimme a sec and I’ll be good to go.”

Despite his fears, the walk to the restaurant wasn’t awkward. Tyler was just like he’d been in Toronto, something to say about anything and everything, even when all Jamie could contribute was a nod or an “uh-huh.”

The barbecue restaurant they’d agreed on was only a few minutes walk from their hotel. Google directed them down an alley to an unobtrusive storefront across from an impressive mural on the side of the parking garage—so impressive that Tyler made Jamie stop and take a picture of him standing in front of it.

The smell of barbecue was heavy in the alley, making Jamie’s stomach grumble, and only got stronger when they opened the door and went inside, down into the basement restaurant. 

They were able to get a table right away, probably because it was a weekday. The waitress raised her eyebrows a little at the amount of food they ordered, but disappeared to get the pitcher of local beer they’d decided to split.

Silence fell for a moment, then, as they took their first drinks. Jamie felt the need to contribute, since Tyler had been carrying the conversation. Of course, since he wasn’t Tyler, effortlessly charming, always with something to say, all he could think of were lame questions. “Were you able to get all your credits transferred?” 

Tyler didn’t seem to mind the lameness, licking at the foam on his upper lip. “Yeah, it looked like they might make me take one of my science classes again, but we finally got it sorted out, thank fuck.”

“Not a science major, then?” Jamie felt like an idiot; surely he knew Tyler’s major? But he couldn’t remember.

“Ha, no. I barely passed chem in grade 10. And I’m still not sure how.”

Jamie had to laugh at the expression. “Fair. I don’t know if I could pass Chem right now. But Kinesiology is just a shit-ton of biology.”

“Kinesiology, eh?” Tyler took another sip of his beer and didn’t say anything about a hockey player majoring in exercise, like Jamie had half-expected. “You want to coach?”

“Maybe.” Jamie shrugged. “Still figuring it out. What about you?”

Tyler’s face did something unreadable. “Journalism. I thought about Kinesiology, but that’s a lot of science. I figure I’ll try to do something with sports journalism.”

"Get paid to watch sports and talk about sports all day." Jamie nodded. "Nice."

Tyler's grin was shaded with something that made Jamie's stomach twist. "Yeah, I might not be smart, but there are a fuck-ton of sports channels. Figure I can get a job somewhere."

Jamie should probably leave well enough alone, but his stupid crush on Tyler and his captain instincts were saying the same thing here, so it was probably the right thing. "Who says you're not smart?"

"Uh, everyone?" Tyler's smile didn't reach his eyes, Jamie realized. That was why it looked so wrong. "It's no big, dude, it's not like, I didn't know. I'm the one who flunked out."

"One semester isn't a measure of your smarts," Jamie argued. Ordinarily he would have let it drop by now, but he wanted to take the bruised look off Tyler's face more than he wanted to stop talking, which was kind of astounding. "You passed classes, enough to transfer your credits. At BU! That's not nothing."

Tyler ducked his head, flushing pink across the top of his cheeks. "Not like it was Harvard or Yale, dude."

"Trust me." Maybe it was the beer, but Jamie nudged his knee against Tyler's under the table. For encouragement. Moral support. "UNT isn't Harvard or Yale either. Show up to class, do the work, and you'll be fine."

"I will." Tyler said the words solemnly, like a vow. "I know I fucked up in Boston, but I'm gonna do better."

Jamie couldn't help but smile at him. "I know you will."

Before they could get any deeper, the waitress reappeared with a tray full of barbecued meat and the kind of sides that would give the university nutritionist heart palpitations. Jamie's stomach was grateful, even if the rest of him was a little sad.

But Tyler kept his knee pressed against Jamie's until they stood up to leave.

* * *

Maybe it was the beer talking, but by the time they made it back to the hotel, Jamie was feeling much calmer about the whole sharing a bed thing. It was a big bed. Plenty of room even for two hockey players.

Tyler finished loving on Marshall and straightened up. "Want me to turn this off?"

Jamie looked at the TV, where Vin Diesel was making some kind of speech about family. "Nah, it's cool. Cars and explosions is about my speed right now, but I'm not tired enough to sleep yet."

"Cool. I, uh, think I'm gonna grab a shower now, if that's cool with you?" Tyler rubbed a hand over the back of his neck.

"Yeah, sure." Jamie squatted down to get his turn petting Marshall. "Go for it. Marshall and I are gonna watch some Fast and Furious."

Tyler shot him another little grin, disappearing into the bathroom.

Jamie spaced out a little, petting Marshall until his ass started to go to sleep. He hesitated a little before inviting Marshall up onto the bed, but he couldn't resist those eyes.

He wasn't drunk, not on half a pitcher of beer, even if it was stronger than the cheap shit the team always bought. The buzz was nice, though, and he floated happily on it, enjoying the solid weight of Marshall next to him, until the bathroom door clicked open.

Tyler came out of the bathroom in a cloud of steam, naked except for a towel that looked like it might slide loose at any moment. Jamie had to blink for a moment, not sure if this was actually happening or if he'd fallen asleep and was having a particularly pornographic dream.

When Tyler spotted Marshall on the bed, he shook his head, eyes sparkling. "He got to you, huh?"

Jamie shrugged, doing his best to keep his eyes on Tyler's face. Hopefully his face wasn't too red. "It's a big bed, and he's good company."

"He is." Tyler's face went soft when he looked at Marshall, making something flip in the pit of Jamie's stomach. "Gonna have to leave a good tip for housekeeping, I guess."

Whatever reply Jamie might have given died in his throat as Tyler dropped his towel, bending over to dig clean clothes out of his duffel. 

After one long, endless moment Jamie managed to drag his eyes away, refocus them on the TV screen. But the damage had already been done. The image felt seared on Jamie's vision, like he'd stared at the sun for too long. The long, lean lines of Tyler's body, dark ink on pale skin, water droplets tracing the lines of his muscles as they trickled lower and lower.

Guilt sat cold and heavy in the pit of Jamie's stomach. Tyler was coming to Texas for a fresh start, a safe place. The last thing he needed was for his captain to be ogling him. Jamie needed to be someone he could depend on.

"Hey." Tyler's voice broke into his self-recriminating spiral. "You okay?"

Jamie smiled at him, hoping it looked natural. At least Tyler had managed to get underwear on. A shirt was probably too much to hope for, considering that those indecently snug boxer briefs were all Tyler normally wore to bed. "Yeah, just tired, I think."

"Me, too." A yawn cracked Tyler's jaw as he pulled back the blanket and sheet on his side of the bed, sliding under the covers. "One more day. You'll be glad not to ride in the car for awhile, huh, buddy?"

Marshall's tail thumped on the bed once, but he didn't lift his head from where it rested on Jamie's thigh. Which meant that when Tyler reached over to scratch Marshall's ears, his hand was suddenly so close to Jamie's crotch that he didn't dare look down.

“I'm, uh, gonna go brush my teeth." He extricated himself carefully from underneath Marshall, trying his best not to look like he was running away to the bathroom.

Brushing his teeth and taking a piss gave him time to pull himself together, but he still paused when he came back out into the room to find it dark except for the lamp on his side of the bed.

"Sorry." Tyler looked up from his phone to see Jamie hesitating in the doorway. "You said you were tired, so I thought…"

"You thought right." Jamie forced his feet to move, to carry him toward the bed. The bed he and his teammate were sharing. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he reached for the lamp. "You ready for the light?"

Tyler nodded. "Go for it."

Somehow getting into bed in the dark felt more intimate than if Tyler had watched him do it. But once Jamie's head hit the pillow, the exhaustion of the day, the buzz of the beer, the soft mattress underneath him all combined to have him sliding into sleep almost before he knew what happened.

* * *

Jamie woke up with hair tickling his nose, a warm body against his side. When he opened his eyes, expecting to see Marshall, his half-asleep brain took a moment to process what he was seeing, to match the sight with the sensations.

Somewhere in the night, Marshall had abandoned them. The skin pressed against Jamie's, the hair in his face, both belong to Tyler.

The leg slung over his and the morning wood pressing into his hip were Tyler's, too.

Jamie might have forgotten how to breathe for a minute.

His own dick was just as eager, if not more, tenting his basketball shorts. Jamie thanked whatever god was listening that he’d woken up first. Sure, he knew that morning wood didn’t necessarily mean a person was turned on. But— 

Next to him, Tyler shifted, sighing a little, the hard, hot line of his cock grinding against Jamie’s hip.

Summoning all his willpower, Jamie started slowly extricating himself from the bed, inch by cautious inch. He had to freeze a couple of times, bracing himself for Tyler to wake, but finally he was free, standing next to the bed.

His phone said it was only seven, but there wasn’t a chance in hell Jamie was going to get back to sleep, adrenaline and arousal battling it out in his body. Sighing quietly, he grabbed his backpack and made his way as quietly as possible to the bathroom.

Pissing took care of the pressure in his bladder, but his erection remained stubbornly persistent. Sighing, Jamie turned on the water and climbed into the shower. 

He made at least a token effort not to think about Tyler when he wrapped his hand around his cock. But his brain was having none of it, reminding him in vivid Technicolor detail of when he and Tyler had been horsing around in the pool. Of what it had felt like to pin Tyler to the side of the pool, holding him there. Of what it might have felt like with no clothes between them.

_ Tyler looked back over his shoulder, eyes wide and dark. “You planning on letting me go anytime soon?” _

_ “Do you want me to?” Jamie exhaled over the back of Tyler’s neck, watching the goosebumps rise on his skin. _

_ “I—” Tyler’s hips moved, grinding back just a little against Jamie’s cock. “Uh—” _

_ Jamie returned the favor, pressing his hard cock closer against Tyler’s ass. “Or do you want me to keep you right here?” _

_ The noise Tyler made at that could only be described as a whimper, a shudder running through his whole body. “Please.” _

_ He begged as Jamie worked him open, one finger, then two, writhing against the grip of Jamie’s other hand. He begged when Jamie fucked his way inside with short, sharp thrusts.  _

_ “Please, Jamie.” He nearly sobbed the words out, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. “Please, I need to come, please—” _

_ Jamie shifted them until he found the right angle, until Tyler was crying out with every thrust as Jamie hit his prostate. “Come,” he ordered. _

_ Tyler’s whole body went taut almost before Jamie finished speaking. Jamie fucked him through it, until his thrusts went jerky and lost their rhythm, until he came, too, emptying himself into the tight heat of Tyler’s body. _

Jamie blinked water out of his eyes, watching the drops of jizz slide down the tiled wall, the shower washing away the evidence of what he’d done.

If only he could wash away the thoughts so easily. If only he could stop wanting someone who didn’t, who wouldn’t want him back.

* * *

They pulled up to the house a little after 6, with the sun shining in their eyes as it sank toward the horizon. “Here we are.” Jamie put the car in park and turned off the ignition. “It’s not much, but it’s home.”

“Dude, at this point a tent would be fucking awesome if it didn’t move. This is great. Isn’t it, buddy?”

Marshall nosed at Tyler’s hand, pawing at his shoulder in a clear bid to get out of the car.

“Okay, okay, hold on. There’s a back yard, right?”

Jamie nodded, opening the door. “Yeah, with a fence. Gate’s over here; I’ll show you.”

Once they’d closed the gate behind them, Tyler unclipped the leash from Marshall’s collar. He looked at them for a moment, like he wasn’t quite sure he was allowed to be off the leash.

“Go ahead.” Tyler made little shooing motions. “This is home now, buddy. Go mark your territory.”

With that encouragement, Marshall trotted off to explore the fenceline, stopping every few feet to lift a leg, then circling the giant above-ground pool that took up half of the yard space.

Jamie knew they needed to unload the car, but every muscle in his body was complaining. Still, the sooner they started, the sooner they’d be done. 

He turned to Tyler to say something along those lines, but before he could speak, the back door banged open. Jordie was quickly followed by Rous and Val, Gonch and Kari. 

“You made it!” Jordie crossed the space between them, offering Tyler a hand. “I’m—

“Jordie.” Tyler grinned back at him, letting Jordie pull him in for a bro hug. “Good to meet you. I’ve heard a lot.”

Jordie let go of Tyler’s hand and did his best to get Jamie in a headlock. “You can’t believe anything this one says, bro.”

Tyler raised his eyebrows, eyes dancing. “So you’re not the hot one?”

The rest of the guys cracked up at the look on Jordie’s face, which was totally worth the effort it took Jamie to wrench himself out of his grip. But Jordie recovered quickly. “I mean, it’s obvious now that you’ve met both of us. And I’m the nice one, because I got the guys over here to help move your shit in.”

“Marry me.” Tyler clasped his hands over his chest, batting his eyelashes at Jordie. He was clearly playing it for laughs, but it still made something twist uncomfortably in Jamie’s chest.

“Nah, thanks for the offer, but I like blondes.” Jordie herded them toward the front yard. “C’mon, let’s get started. The sooner we’re done, the sooner we can eat. I got the good tacos, and there’s beer.”

Jamie joined in the general parade, trying to remind himself that the last few days had been an aberration. It wasn’t going to be him and Tyler in their little bubble anymore, but it wasn’t supposed to be. They were part of a team, and the sooner Tyler got used to the guys, the better.

It helped that all of Tyler’s things were being carried into Jamie’s room—their room, now. With so many hands to help, unloading went quickly, and almost before Jamie knew it, the last of the team disappeared back out to the living room, leaving the two of them standing alone in the room they were going to share.

“Hey.” Tyler grabbed Jamie’s arm as he started walking toward the door. “I just—thanks. You didn’t have to do, like any of this. The room and the drive and—yeah. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Despite everything, despite the way Jamie was half-certain sharing a room with Tyler might actually kill him with sexual frustration, he found he meant it. “We’re really glad you’re here.”

Tyler met his eyes, more serious than Jamie had seen him since they met. “Me too. Let’s prove them wrong.”

Held in place under that gaze, Tyler’s fingers like a brand on his skin, all Jamie could do was nod. 


	4. Chapter 4

Tyler hadn’t realized how much he’d missed this, being part of a team, until he was squished onto a couch with Jamie, Jordie, and a guy who’d been introduced to him as Val, Valeri and Nuke, depending on who was talking to him. 

He’d been able to put it out of his mind, mostly, to pretend it was just another summer, hanging at home, spending time with his boys. But in the back of his mind, there had always been that voice, reminding him of what he’d lost.

It wasn’t quite the same as in Boston, of course. It would be dumb to expect it to be, even dumber than Tyler normally was. But despite the baking heat outside, the shorter buildings, the still-unfamiliar people around him—except for Jamie—there was a lot that was familiar, too. 

The house looked like every rental house that had been beaten into submission by years of student renters. Maybe a little nicer than usual, which Jordie claimed was because of him having a real grown-up job, which led to everyone except Tyler pelting him with the lime slices they’d squeezed out over their tacos.

The beer they were washing the tacos down with was just as cheap and shitty as in Boston, and the laughter and chirping were the same. Tyler didn’t know all the jokes, all the names that got tossed around, but he would. This was going to be his team, his home.

“You okay?” Jamie asked the question under cover of a loud debate over whether Rous had struck out with a girl at the bar the night before or not. They were crushed together so closely on the couch that Tyler was more than halfway to sitting in Jamie’s lap and not at all mad about it.

Tyler nodded, swallowing the last of his taco. “Yeah. I’m good.”

Jamie smiled at him, a little smile just between the two of them, before the goalie—Kari, Tyler thought his name was—tried to pull him into a discussion of whether they should play Chel or Mario Kart while waiting for it to be late enough to go out.

“You assholes can do whatever you want, but I’m not leaving this house.” Jamie crumpled the foil that had been wrapped around his taco into a ball, aiming for the trash can and throwing his arms up in victory when the ball sailed inside in a clean arc. “We’ve been driving for three days and I’m wiped.”

Jordie groaned theatrically. “You’re too young to be this damn old, Chubbs. Where’s your sense of team bonding? Are you really going to let your team go out without their captain?”

“I learned it from you.” Jamie attempted to shove his brother off the couch, sparking a wrestling match that ended up with everyone on the floor in a giant pile. 

Tyler’s face hurt from laughing, his stomach was full, and in this moment, he had a hard time thinking of the last time he’d been this happy.

* * *

“You could’ve gone out, you know.”

Tyler looked up from his phone, blinking away the afterimages from the screen. Across the room, Jamie leaned against the headboard of his own bed, looking back at him. “Yeah? I know.”

“I’m just—” Jamie let out a little huff. Probably they hadn’t known each other long enough for Tyler to know he made that noise when he was having trouble picking his words, but whatever. “I know I made kind of a big deal of wanting to stay home tonight, but that’s me. I didn’t—I wasn’t trying to make it like you had to. I know you like going out and shit.”

“Yeah, I do.” Tyler shrugged. “But I’m tired, too. And, like—”

Jamie waited patiently while he gathered his thoughts.

“I’m trying to do better here, right? And I’m not gonna like, never go out. But most of the time when I went out in Boston, it was—” Tyler shrugged, not sure how to explain, or if he even could. “I was the only freshman, you know. They only had juniors and seniors on the team, and the rest of them lived off-campus. Had their own friends, their own stuff they didn’t want a kid tagging along for. I didn’t even have Marshall with me. So when the guys on my floor said we should go out, or hit up a party, it was like, why not?”

Jamie nodded. His face was doing something Tyler couldn’t quite interpret, but looking at him wasn’t entirely a hardship. “Makes sense. It’s not gonna be like that here, though, you know?”

“I know. And like I said, I’ll probably go out some, but, like I don’t need to right now.”

“Okay.” Jamie smiled at him, that same little, private smile. 

Swallowing hard, Tyler turned his face back toward his phone, staring blindly at the screen. It was dark, but not dark enough that he could get away with jerking off on his side of the room. Not without Jamie seeing.

Fuck.

Now all he could think about was Jamie seeing.

Shit shit shit.

“Do you have a girlfriend?” Tyler regretted the words as soon as he blurted them out, his voice too high and too loud for the quiet, darkened room. But, as usual, there was no taking back what came out of his mouth. At least maybe this way he could finally put Jamie in the off-limits box in his mind.

When he peeked over, Jamie didn’t look pissed, just a little uncomfortable. Somehow. Nothing that Tyler could really point to, could say “this is how I know he’s uncomfortable.” He just knew.

“Never mind, sorry. Nosy question. I shouldn’t have asked.” 

“No, it’s fine.” Jamie sighed. “I don’t. I did, back before college but—hockey, you know?”

Tyler nodded in the dark. He did know, even if he’d never really been the relationship type. “Yeah. Well, don’t worry, dude. I’m an excellent wingman.”

For some reason, Jamie looked even more uncomfortable at that. “Yeah, I—I don’t usually pick up at bars and stuff. I don’t know. It feels weird.”

“Whatever works, mon capitan.” Tyler needed to get out of this conversation before he actually exploded from embarrassment. At least with the room so dark, Jamie couldn’t see how red his face must be. “Just let me know if you change your mind. I’ve got your back.”

Jamie still didn’t look as relaxed as he had before, but his face was softer, so Tyler was going to take it. “Thanks, bud.”

They returned to their respective phones, but Tyler’s stupid cock refused to get the memo, getting harder every time he glanced over at Jamie. When it got to the point that it was visibly tenting his blanket, no matter how much strategic scrunching he tried to do, he finally got up.

He almost said something stupid about going to the bathroom, something that would just draw Jamie’s attention, but managed to stop himself. Hopefully it was too dark for Jamie to see much, but all the same, he tried to keep his lower body angled slightly away.

Thankfully Jordie was still out—it was barely midnight, so he probably would be for awhile. So there was no one to see Tyler scuttle next door to the bathroom, locking it behind him with a grateful sigh.

He knew from experience that the easiest way to deal with his dick being this stubborn was just to take care of it. Thank fuck he’d just dumped his shaving kit in the bathroom without bothering to unpack. Digging it out of the cabinet where Jamie had told him to stash it, he found the little travel size bottle of lube he’d stashed in there.

It only took a moment to slick up his hand and get it on his cock. He was probably going to hell, but he’d stopped pretending he was going to think about anything but Jamie. Stroking a hand up and down his shaft, Tyler braced his free hand on the counter and let his mind go where it would.

_ He was trying to be quiet, to be sneaky, but despite years of sharing rooms for hockey, Tyler was never much good at that. He had no idea which noise it was that alerted Jamie—the rustling of the sheets, the way Tyler’s breath wouldn’t stop catching in his throat, the sound of skin on skin. _

_ All he knew was that he looked over to find Jamie watching, eyes hot and intent on him, one hand lazily palming his own erection through his boxers. _

_ “Let me see,” he said. _

_ Tyler sucked in a breath, kicking the covers down, leaving him naked and exposed in the air-conditioned room. It should have been embarrassing, but somehow it just made him hotter. _

_ “There we go.” Jamie nodded approvingly, his eyes raking up and down Tyler’s body. “Go on. Put on a show for me.” _

_ Biting back a whimper, Tyler obeyed, bracing his heels on the mattress so he could fuck up into his fist, His other hand slid up his stomach, thumb flicking over a nipple and making him jolt. _

_ “Does that feel good?” Jamie’s tone was almost casual, conversational. Except for how it was lower than usual, rougher. Except for how his breath was coming faster, the sheets on his bed rustling, too. “Your nipples?” _

_ Tyler nodded, switching to the other side.  _

_ “Maybe sometime I’ll play with them.” Jamie’s voice was absolutely normal. He could be discussing the fucking weather with a tone like that, but he’s putting such wonderful, terrible, filthy, amazing ideas in Tyler’s head. “Would you like that? Let me play with them, see exactly how much you can take before you beg me to touch your cock. Before you beg me to come—  _

Tyler shook all over with the force of his orgasm, one hand clenched on the counter to hold him upright when his knees tried to give way. Eventually, he came back to himself enough to flush the toilet, to wash his hands and put the lube safely away. 

When he got back to the bedroom, Jamie’s phone was put away and his eyes were closed. Tyler absolutely did not feel disappointed that their evening of hanging out was over, or relieved that he didn’t have to face Jamie so soon after jerking off to the thought of him. No conflicted emotions here, no sir.

Thankfully the post-orgasm relaxation allowed him to fall asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

* * *

When Tyler stumbled into the kitchen the next morning, more bleary-eyed than he should have been, given that he got a solid nine hours, Jamie passed him a mug of coffee.

“Marry me,” Tyler mumbled. Or he thought he did. He wasn’t entirely sure if he was speaking to Jamie or the coffee.

Jamie laughed, leaving Tyler with no idea if he’d heard him or not. “Once you’re awake, I was gonna take you to campus and show you around a little. Most of it’s closed until closer to classes, but we can go by the Athletic Center, get a workout in.”

Tyler nodded. “Yeah, just—”

When he trailed off, Jamie laughed again, patting him gently on the shoulder. “Whenever you’re ready.”

They sat in silence, Jamie messing with his phone, Tyler sipping his coffee and slowly feeling his brain coming back online as the caffeine filtered into his system. All too soon, he reached the bottom of the cup and sat there, trying to decide if it was worth getting up for more.

“Refill?” Jamie looked up from his phone screen.

“You don’t have to—” Tyler cut off his protest when Jamie neatly nipped the mug out of his hands, standing up to refill it from the half-full carafe.

He slid it back in front of Tyler before settling back into his own seat. “I know I don’t have to. And if I was in worse shape, I probably wouldn’t. But we’re—I’m so glad you’re here.”

Before Tyler could figure out what to do with that much raw honesty, with the slightly vulnerable look in Jamie’s eyes, they started to twinkle. “Besides. Coach would have my C if I let you burn yourself on a coffeepot the first day you were here. We need those hands intact.”

If it was anybody else, Tyler would have made the dumb, obvious joke, about how Jamie could use his hands for more than just hockey. But he wasn’t prepared for that, to find out if Jamie would tease back, or if he would blush and stammer and look away, or if he’d kick Tyler out of his house in disgust.

He couldn’t quite picture the last one. Surely, even if Jamie was uncomfortable with Tyler’s sexuality, he wouldn’t be a dick about it. 

But he couldn’t be sure.

So he drank his second cup of coffee, setting it gently down on the table when it was empty again. “Let me get my shoes and we can go.”

“Cool.” Jamie stood up from the table too, “If we have time, we can swing by and make fun of Jordie for being hungover at work.”

Tyler was helpless to do anything but grin back. It was almost frightening, how well he fit here. How much he wanted to fit here. “Sounds great.”

* * *

True to his word, Jamie gave Tyler an abbreviated tour of the Athletic Center, which was apparently where all the UNT sports were headquartered. They stopped by the tiny office where Jordie was trying, and failing, to hide his hangover, gently chirping until he chased them out. 

Jamie thought he was being sneaky with the travel mug of coffee and tiny pack of extra-strength Tylenol he “forgot” on Jordie’s desk. And maybe Jordie was hungover enough not to notice, but Tyler did.

“That was nice,” he said. Not until they were out of earshot, of course.

Jamie shrugged, his face going pink. “He’d do the same for me.”

“You’re still a good brother.” Tyler followed Jamie’s confident strides down the hall, a half-step behind. “It’s cool that you can both be here.”

“Yeah.” Jamie turns down another hallway, leading Tyler toward the double doors at the end. “I thought he’d leave after graduation, but it was pretty cool when he got the trainer job here. I definitely couldn’t afford the house without his help.”

Before Tyler could come up with a response, Jamie pushed open the doors, ushering him into the weight room with a facial expression Tyler couldn’t quite parse.

It looked much the same as any other weight room. Maybe a little brighter, thanks to the floor-to-ceiling windows taking up most of one wall, but nice all the same. Something settled in Tyler’s chest at the familiarity. He might be in a new state, at a new school, but training was still training. And whenever he got back on the ice, hockey would still be hockey. 

“It’s not much, probably, compared to BU—”

“It’s great.” Tyler wished there was some way to really, truly make Jamie believe that he didn’t have to keep making excuses for UNT. That he’d realize Tyler was the one who needed to prove himself here, not Jamie. “Really. It doesn’t even smell like feet.”

That at least got a smile out of Jamie, the little dorky one that always made Tyler feel like he’d done something special to earn it. “The old one did.”

“Figures.” Tyler bumped his shoulder into Jamie’s, barely resisting the urge to just lean into his side. The last thing he needed to do was scare his new captain off with his neediness when the season hadn’t even started. “Well, the sooner we get started, the sooner we can stop, right?”

“Right.” Jamie bumps him back, moving toward the rowing machines. “Let’s get to it.”

Off-season conditioning was just as important as in-season workouts. Tyler knew that, had known it for years, just like he’d known to keep his eyes to himself in the gym, to focus on his own workouts and not anything else.

Apparently he had completely forgotten how to do that, though, because the next hour and a half was an exercise in torture.

And Jamie didn’t even take his shirt off.

That might have been easier, actually. If Jamie had followed Tyler’s example and stripped off his shirt when he started to sweat, then Tyler could have gotten used to it. Exposure therapy, or whatever it was called. Instead, he kept getting these little peekaboo flashes of skin when Jamie lifted the hem of his shirt to wipe his face, or reached above his head. 

Somehow Tyler managed to keep enough focus to make it through his own workout without dropping anything on himself or otherwise being injured, although it was a near thing when Jamie started doing fucking yoga poses or some shit for his cooldown. Look, Tyler was only human, and watching Jamie Benn’s hockey ass move through cat-cow stretches was—Tyler didn’t have words.

And then, because he wasn’t already a perfect fucking human being, he took Tyler to the rink.

“We don’t have gear or anything, it’s all locked up.” Jamie ducked his head, a pleased smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “But I thought—I like to get on the ice when I can.”

“Me too.” Tyler had to hug him, but he had enough presence of mind to keep it to a bro-hug. If he’d actually gotten Jamie’s arms wrapped around him, he wouldn’t put it past himself to do something embarrassing.

Even without gear, being back on the ice eased something he hadn’t realized was twisted up inside him. Skating around the edge of the rink, feeling the ice slide away under his blades—it was the most peaceful he’d felt since he was officially expelled from BU.

Jamie let him have a couple of laps to contemplate, of course, because why should his uncanny ability to read Tyler’s mood stop here? But then he skated up behind him, bumping a shoulder into Tyler’s.

“Come on, Seguin, let’s see what you got.”

Tyler looked down at his empty hands, then back up to Jamie with a quizzical eyebrow. Hell, there weren’t even nets on the ice right now.

“Down the rink and back. Winner buys the beer tonight.” Jamie grinned at him, big brown eyes sharp with something Tyler hadn’t seen in his face before. Well. Not in person. He’d seen it in some of the game tape he’d watched when the Stars first called.

And hell, Tyler was just as competitive as the next hockey player, if not more.

“You’re on, Benn.” He shoved back, harder than he might have otherwise, but Jamie just absorbed it, solid and steady. It shouldn’t be that hot, but Tyler never claimed to be smart. “I like Labatt. You know, for the record, when you lose.”

“Talking a big game there, bud.” Jamie grinned down at him as they reach the end of the rink, swinging around simultaneously to face back the way they came. “Let’s see if you can back it up.”

Despite all the tape he’d watched, part of Tyler was expecting to win easily. Jamie was only a little taller than him, but carried at least twenty pounds more muscle. Surely that would slow him down. 

Except for how he stayed with Tyler, second by second as they shot down the rink toward the far end. Tyler dug in his skates, pushed harder, but Jamie matched him almost stroke for stroke. 

Tyler made the turn and started back, trying to ignore the burn in his lungs, the way his legs were complaining about being forced into this after already having done a workout, muscles quivering as they depleted. When he crossed the goal line, he forced himself to move faster, to dig up one last burst of speed from somewhere.

His hand smacked the wall a second before Jamie’s, but he was too busy trying not to break his face on the glass to gloat right away. And then Jamie plowed into him, trapping him against the side of the rink, and he suddenly had more pressing concerns.

At least he wasn’t wearing a cup. Hard-ons in a cup were intensely uncomfortable.

Jamie pulled back almost immediately, but not before the sense memory of being pinned against that big, powerful body was seared into Tyler’s memory. 

“Good game.” Jamie lifted a hand for a high-five, which Tyler did instinctively. “I’ll get you next time.”

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that.” Tyler pushed off the wall and headed for the opening between the benches. “Showers? I don’t know how long I can take my own smell.”

Jamie followed, catching up and keeping pace. “Yeah, sorry. Let me show you.”

If he noticed Tyler keeping his lower body angled away, he didn’t comment.

Thankfully the gym showers had separate stalls, not the big open room at most hockey rinks. Not that Tyler thought Jamie would look—the unspoken shower rules said no one looks below the waist, although everyone did sometimes, and some more than others. But if he did—if Tyler had seen Jamie noticing the erection he’d been trying to contain for the past forty-five minutes—if he’d accidentally caught a look at that hockey ass naked and wet under the spray—

He was trying, okay? But impulse control had never been his strong suit. Which was why he was here in the first place. So he should be grateful he wasn’t being tempted, instead of vaguely disappointed he had a nice, private shower stall to jerk off in.

Well. Semi-private. Even though Jamie had observed locker room etiquette and left an empty stall between them, Tyler could still clearly hear the little tune he was humming under his breath as he showered.

Biting his lip, Tyler gave serious consideration to just turning the water to cold and hoping his dick decided to behave itself for once. He had no idea if the splash of water on tile would be enough to cover the change in his breathing, any noises he might make— 

Of course, because he was himself, that idea just made him harder, his cock twitching as if to demand his attention. He reached for it without thinking, wrapping a hand around the shaft and doing his best to strangle the noise that tried to slip out.

“Everything okay?” 

Tyler froze as Jamie’s voice floated over the partitions separating them. Apparently his best hadn’t been good enough. “Yeah, I’m good. Just got something in my hair, so…”

“Yeah, sure. Take your time.”

Not moving a muscle, almost not daring to breathe, Tyler stood like a statue until Jamie started humming again.

Tyler’s life was either a bad comedy or a bad porno, he decided. The prospect of discovery hadn’t wilted his erection even a little bit. He was so hard it ached a little, foreskin pulled back from the head and liquid beading at the tip.

He knew, intellectually, that he wouldn’t actually die if he didn’t get off. But as much as every instinct, every unwritten rule said very firmly that there was No Jerking Off Where Others Could Hear Him— 

—he didn’t think he’d actually mind the consequences if Jamie did hear. What was he going to do? Come into the stall and make Tyler stop?

Come into the stall and take care of things himself?

_ “Gotta be quiet.” Jamie breathed the words into Tyler’s ear. “Anybody could come in. Anybody could hear you.” _

_ Tyler bit his lip, swallowing down the whimpers that tried to escape. Jamie wasn't even touching him, not really, hands resting loosely on his hips. But even that light touch was enough to make him shake. _

_ "Here." Jamie moved in closer, plastering himself against Tyler's back. His cock was hard and hot against Tyler's ass, making Tyler whimper again. "Let me help." _

_ Before Tyler could react, one of Jamie's big hands covered his mouth, the other sliding down to curl around his cock. He moaned outright at the touch, the sound lost behind Jamie's muffling palm and the sound of the shower. _

_ "That's it." Jamie's words vibrated against the side of Tyler's neck. He started a slow, filthy movement of his hips, rocking Tyler forward with each deliberate grind. "Gonna keep you nice and quiet. Unless you want an audience?” _

_ Tyler honestly wasn’t sure if he was reacting to the words or to Jamie’s touch, but either way the effect was the same—a shiver running through his body, his cock jerking in Jamie’s hand. Not that he could move much, held firmly in place against Jamie’s body. _

_ “That what you want?” Jamie was moving faster now, grinding harder against Tyler, stroking him off with movements just the right side of brutal. “You want everybody in here to watch me get you off? Want them to watch me fuck you, show how well you take it—?” _

Tyler bit down on his hand as he came, hoping it muffled the sound enough. Even if the idea of Jamie coming in to see him clearly post-orgasm was enough to get a hopeful twitch out of his overeager cock.

“Tyler? You about done?”

“Yeah.” He shoved his head under the spray, hoping any flush on his face would seem like it came from the shower. “Gimme a sec.”

It was going to get better, he told himself. He couldn’t be like this the whole season, the whole school year. The whole remainder of his college career. 

Could he?

* * *

“The coolers are outside.” Tyler closed the back door behind him as he came into the kitchen where Jamie was slicing limes into wedges. “You gonna get in the pool, Captain? Or hide out in the kitchen all night?”

“You sound like Jordie.” Jamie dumped a handful of wedges into a bowl next to the cutting board, on a tray with, oh hell yes, salt shakers and shot glasses. He didn’t look up at Tyler. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

Tyler couldn’t stop himself from resting a hand on Jamie’s shoulder. Unlike Tyler, Jamie was still sadly wearing a t-shirt with his swim trunks, but the muscle was still warm and solid under Tyler’s hand under the fabric. He lost his train of thought for a minute. What had he been about to say? 

Oh, yeah. “Jamie. They’re hockey players, and this isn’t a dinner party. The pizza will be here any minute, the beer is outside. It’s good.”

Jamie’s whole face went red, adorably, the flush disappearing under the chewed-up collar of his t-shirt. “I just—”

“You’re not the captain to throw parties.” Tyler let him slice the final lime, then took the knife away from him. “You’re the captain because your team picked you. So get your ass out there and hang out with them.”

“Maybe you should be the captain.” Jamie shot Tyler a tiny smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. 

Tyler rolled his eyes. “No way, bro. These guys just met me. Come on, let’s go. How many beers am I gonna have to pour into you before you loosen up and enjoy yourself?”

“Nobody knows.” Jordie’s voice made both of them jump. How had he made it into the house without either of them noticing. “You gonna be my backup, Segs? Get Chubbs to chill out and have fun?”

Tyler winked at Jordie, picking up the tray. “I’m sure gonna try. Starting with this. Where’s the tequila, Benny?”

Jamie eyed him warily as he opened the fridge and took out the bottle. “I’m not—”

“Shhh.” Tyler looped an arm through Jamie’s, pulling him toward the door. “We’re saying yes to things tonight, Jameson. Repeat after me. ‘Yes, Tyler, that sounds like fun.’”

“Yes, Tyler, that sounds like fun.” Jamie rolled his eyes as he parroted the words in a monotone that would put Sean Monahan to shame. Behind him, Jordie shot Tyler an exaggerated thumbs-up and slipped out the back door.

“Good.” Tyler pulled Jamie in the direction of the back door. He didn’t flatter himself that he could move Jamie if he didn’t want to be moved, and it made him feel something he didn’t entirely want to think about, how willingly Jamie went along with him. “We’re doing shots.”

Jamie’s arm tensed against his. “I—”

Tyler shot him a raised-eyebrow look. He almost, almost took it back, but Jamie didn’t look truly uncomfortable with the idea. Just hesitant, like he wanted to do it, but wasn’t sure that he should.

“Sounds like fun.” Jamie grinned at him, a wry twist of his lips.

Before Tyler could say or do something dumb, though, they were in the back yard, setting the tray and the tequila bottle down on the little rickety patio table. Most of the guys and a few girlfriends who’d arrived were splashing around in the pool, or arguing over whose playlist was better, which was good. Tyler might not be book-smart, but he knew people, and there was no way Jamie would want an audience for this.

“All right.” Tyler put on his most confident face, turning to Jamie and offering the salt shaker. “Where do you want it?”

Jamie blinked those big dumb cow eyes at him. “Uh, what?”

“Body shots, dude.” Tyler stretched out on tabletop next to the tray, picking up a lime wedge with one hand and gesturing to his torso with the other. “Pick your spot.”

For a moment, he thought he’d pushed too far, again, but then Jordie came over, shaking his head. “Never gonna happen, Segs. Might as well give it up. Jamie’s not a body shots kinda guy.”

“Fuck you.” Jamie’s jaw set, his hand clenching around the salt-shaker. 

Tyler had a few endless seconds to realize what an incredible tactical error he’d made and then Jamie was there, braced above him like something out of his most ridiculous fantasies, tongue swiping warm and wet over his collarbone.

The whoops and shouts from Jordie and their other teammates faded into the background. All Tyler could focus on was Jamie, straightening up to sprinkle the salt over where he’d licked and reaching out to pour a shot, holding Tyler’s eyes the whole time.

“Yeah?” His voice was soft as he held the glass poised above Tyler’s abs. 

Tyler was proud of how normal his voice came out when he said, “Yeah, go for it.”

He barely remembered to pop the lime wedge into his mouth before the tequila hit his abs, icy cold and making him shiver. And then Jamie’s tongue was there, even warmer than he’d remembered, chasing every last drop of liquid as it traveled over Tyler’s skin. 

This wasn’t the first time Tyler had done body shots—hell, it wasn’t the first time this summer. But he couldn’t remember it feeling like this, like every nerve ending in his skin was coming alive. Even with the amount of time he’d spent imagining Jamie’s tongue on him, his imagination paled in comparison to the reality.

Tyler had no idea how long it lasted, how long he hung suspended, unaware of everything except Jamie licking over his skin, trying desperately not to get hard in his swim trunks. But finally Jamie moved up his body, tongue dragging over Tyler’s collarbone again, lowering his head to take the lime from Tyler’s mouth, his teeth grazing Tyler’s lips just enough to make him shiver.

Looking away from Jamie’s mouth as he sucked on the lime was the hardest thing Tyler had done in a long time.

Without Jamie touching him, the rest of the world came back into focus. Despite the way Tyler’s world had moved on its axis, hardly anyone seemed to have noticed. Most of the people in the yard were still going about their business, the guys splashing around in the pool, trying to dunk each other or getting shooed away by whatever girls they’d brought. 

Jordie slapped Jamie on the shoulder. Apparently he’d been standing there the whole time. “Wow, Chubbs, what the fuck?”

“You don’t know everything, Jordie.” Jamie’s cheeks were flushed red, his mouth pink as he spit out the lime. 

“I guess not.” Jordie shook his head, his eyes sharp and assessing when they landed on Tyler. “What, you gonna let him do one off you next?”

Even Tyler knew that wasn’t going to happen. He was opening his mouth to say something, to deflect and let Jamie off the hook. But then Jamie’s mouth set into a stubborn line as he stripped his shirt off in one jerky motion. 

“Yeah, let’s do it.”

Tyler was pretty sure this was how he was going to die. Jamie tugged him up off the table, snagging a lime wedge and lying down in his place, eyebrows raised expectantly. 

Bracing a hand on the table next to Jamie’s shoulder, Tyler leaned down. Collarbone seemed like the safest bet, since Jamie had set that example, so he opened his mouth and licked.

Jamie’s skin was warm under his tongue, tasting faintly of sweat, the scent of his cologne growing stronger as Tyler got closer to his neck. It was distracting enough that Tyler accidentally grazed him with his teeth. 

Jamie made a little noise that he wouldn’t have been able to hear if he was any further away, one that went straight to Tyler’s idiot cock. “Sorry.”

He regretted the word as soon as he breathed it. Watching goosebumps rise on Jamie’s skin in response as he straightened up was maybe the hottest thing he’d seen all day. 

“It’s fine.” Jamie’s voice was a little lower, a little rougher than normal, his eyes wide and dark as Tyler sprinkled salt over his dampened skin and poured a shot.

Tyler hesitated, shot glass in hand. “I can just take the shot—”

Jamie’s face took on that familiar stubborn expression. Tyler knew what the response would be before he even said it. “I’m fine. Do it.”

Shrugging, Tyler upended the shot over the center of Jamie’s chest, leaning down to lick up the tequila. He’d only been thinking of avoiding Jamie’s stomach, trying not to make him more uncomfortable. 

He didn’t realize his tactical error until he chased a stray drop of tequila over Jamie’s nipple, felt Jamie quiver beneath him as his tongue curled around the pebbled tip. It wasn’t the burn of the tequila that lit a fire under his skin, made him want to throw caution to the wind and go for it.

When he finished licking the last streams of sticky liquid off of Jamie, willing his stupid cock to settle down, he swiped his tongue perfunctorily over the strip of salt, lifting his head for the lime.

As he sucked the lime out of Jamie’s mouth, forcing himself to pull back instead of closing the last breath of space between their mouths, Tyler couldn’t shake the feeling that everyone was watching. But when he dragged his eyes away from Jamie, spread out on the table all flushed and dark-eyed and looking good enough to eat, no one was paying them any attention. 

The playlist struggle had finally been settled, it seemed, with Macklemore blasting from the tiny speaker. Everyone else was in the pool, even Jordie climbing up the ladder with a beer in each hand. For all intents and purposes, Jamie and Tyler were alone in their own tiny bubble.

It was the perfect moment to say something, to do something. But before Tyler could figure out what, exactly—other than dragging Jamie into the house and jumping on his dick, which had a certain appeal—Marshall barreled into his legs with a happy bark. 

Tyler stumbled to the side, nearly tripping over Jamie’s feet. By the time he regained his balance, Jamie had gotten off the table and headed for the pool. Toward the people. Away from Tyler.

“Not cool, buddy.” Despite himself, Tyler couldn’t manage a stern tone, reaching down to rub Marshall’s ears. “What did we say about being a cockblock, huh?” 

Marshall panted happily, absolutely content with life.

“Well, what do you know, anyway? You don’t have any balls.” Tyler straightened up with a sigh. “Oh, well. Time to get drunk.”

* * *

When Tyler woke up the next morning, he gave serious consideration to just staying in his bed and waiting for death. Even with his eyes closed, the light felt like it was stabbing directly into his brain and his mouth tasted worse than Marshall’s farts smelled.

The only thing that got him to actually open his eyes was the incredibly urgent need to piss. The only thing worse than feeling like this would be feeling like this while lying in a pool of his own urine.

Jamie's bed was empty, the sheets and blankets crumpled at the foot. Tyler couldn't focus enough to decide if he was glad or disappointed about that. That was a question for Later Tyler.

Even though Jamie was gone, there was a bottle of water and a couple of pills left on the table next to Tyler's bed. Despite his general physical misery, something loosened in Tyler's chest at the sight.

He didn't remember much after the body shots—part of him wished he didn't remember those in such brutal clarity. But if Jamie was leaving him meds, Tyler must not have fucked things up too badly.

Swallowing the pills was a little scary for a moment, but then his body recognized the water and demanded more. And then he really had to piss, so he staggered to the thankfully empty bathroom and took care of that. 

By then he was too awake to go back to bed, so he followed his nose to the kitchen instead.

"Hey, it's the dancing queen!"

Jordie's voice probably wasn't objectively that loud, but Tyler still flinched away. "Jesus, could you be any louder?"

Jordie just chuckled, even when Jamie gave him a reproachful look and handed Tyler a cup of coffee.

"Thank fuck." Tyler sank down into a chair, holding onto the mug like it was the Stanley Cup. After a few sips, Jordie's words trigger some flash of memory from the night before. "Wait. Did I...did I dance to Luke Bryan?"

"And Taylor Swift and Rihanna and Selena Gomez." Jordie's grin is almost terrifying. "Actually might be easier to list what you didn't dance to. I think Eaks' girlfriend was like 2 beers away from talking him into a threesome."

If Tyler's head wasn't pounding so badly he would just thump it gently against the table. "Oh, God."

"Relax." Jamie's voice was quiet, but firm in the way that always made Tyler a little shivery. "Eaks thought it was funny."

Tyler opened his eyes just enough to check to see if Jamie was bullshitting him. But no matter how hard he looked, all he could see was Jamie, being his dorkily sincere self.

As much as part of Tyler wondered, might always wonder what could have happened if Marshall hadn't interrupted— 

Just knowing that he still had Jamie as a friend, that he didn't fuck it up, was enough to have the last nausea washing away in the cool rush of relief.

"Oh, do you have your schedule?" Jamie nudged his elbow gently. "I thought we could compare, see which days we can drive to campus together so we only need one parking spot."

"Yeah." Tyler cleared his throat and hoped any flush on his cheeks would be blamed on his hangover. "Let me go get my phone."

Jamie was still his friend. And that wasn't a consolation prize, Tyler reminded himself as he went to find his phone.

Even if part of him still wanted more. Would always want more.

Tyler knew how to want things he couldn't have.

* * *

The house was cool, dark, and quiet when Tyler unlocked the door, anticipation fizzing under his skin.

There were a lot of reasons he liked living with the Benns. Riding to campus with Jamie already felt familiar, and Tyler had successfully negotiated for 50% rights to the stereo. And that was before getting into how nice it was to have Marshall, how much he enjoyed spending time with Jamie and Jordie.

Really, the only downside was the lack of privacy. Sure, Tyler jerked off in the shower, but those were rushed, unsatisfying maintenance orgasms, barely enough to take the edge off.

Today, though. Jordie worked until 5, and Jamie's last class didn't get out until 4:30. Tyler had the better part of two hours of alone time, and he was ready to make the most of it.

He'd almost decided not to bring his dildo, scared that Jamie or Jordie would find it, on purpose or on accident. He'd had to do some fast talking with Marchy, and the memory still made him shudder.

But in the end, he'd squirreled it away in a box of winter clothes, and now he finally had the time to make use of it.

Tossing the dildo, covered with a condom in case he needed to do fast cleanup, and lube onto the bed, he shucked out of his clothes with careless haste, letting them fall wherever. And then, finally, he was naked, could coat a finger with lube and start working it inside his ass.

Despite his best efforts during his hurried showers, it was a tight fit, a stretch he had to breathe through for a minute. Tyler didn't care, already half-hard and lost in his favorite impossible fantasy.

_ "Yeah, just like that." Jamie smoothed his hands over Tyler's ass, spreading him wide to watch as Tyler worked himself open. "Get yourself nice and ready for my cock. Show me how much you want it." _

_ Tyler's breath caught in his throat, a high, whining noise as he worked his finger in. He couldn't get very deep from this angle, not nearly as deep as he wanted. As he needed. _

_ "Good." Jamie's fingers flexed on Tyler's hips. "That's so good, baby." _

_ Arching his back, Tyler started working a second finger in. It was maybe a little too much, too fast, but he couldn't make himself slow down. _

_ Jamie chuckled. "So eager. Should I do this part next time? I think I want to. Take my time, see if I can make you beg." _

_ "Please." Tyler's face flushed hot at the sound of his voice, needy and wrecked.  _

_ "Yeah, just like that." Jamie stroked a hand up Tyler's back. "You ready, baby?" _

_ Tyler scissored his fingers apart as best be could, gasping at the stretch. "Yeah, please, Jamie." _

_ "Since you asked so nicely." _

Tyler almost lost the thread of the fantasy when he reached down and grabbed the dildo. But then the head was pressing inside, blunt pressure so good he wanted to scream.

_ Jamie fucked into him, slowly, inexorably. “That what you want?” _

_ “Yes, please, Jamie, more.” Tyler sucked in a breath. “Fuck me, please—”  _

A choked noise had Tyler’s eyes flying open, freezing with the dildo only halfway inside him.

Jamie stood in the doorway, staring.


	5. Chapter 5

If it had been later in the semester, Jamie would probably have been disappointed to see the neatly printed sign saying that Professor Jagr’s Sociology of Sport class had been canceled. 

But he’d gotten his workout in after practice this morning, and it was his last class of the day, with an evening gloriously free of commitments. By the time he made it to the car, all he could think about was smoking up, maybe getting in the pool until Jordie got home, or maybe hanging out with Tyler and watching something mindless. Tacos for dinner. The kind of evening they weren’t going to have a chance for very often once the semester and the season got started.

The house was cool and dark when he got home, so maybe Tyler was taking a nap, or maybe he took Marshall for a walk. Jamie slipped out of his shoes at the door, moving as quietly as he could so as not to wake Tyler in case he was asleep. He was just going to sneak in, put his backpack away and get his stuff, then head to the backyard until Tyler was awake—

He opened the bedroom door and froze in his tracks.

Tyler was not napping. Tyler was very awake even though his eyes were squeezed shut. Tyler was also stark naked, on all fours on his bed, pushing a larger-than-average dildo slowly into his ass like someone had decided to custom-make Jamie’s porn.

Jamie’s blood drained to his cock so fast he got a little lightheaded. All his imaginings and fantasies paled in comparison to this sight, a sight that was going to be seared into his brain for the rest of his life.

He had to move. Jamie knew that. He couldn’t just—this was so far beyond a violation of privacy. He had to close the door and leave and pretend that he’d never seen this, had never stood here and watched Tyler’s body slowly open for a silicone cock like it would— 

He had to—he had to—

“Yes, please, Jamie, more.” Tyler inhaled, pressing the toy even further in. “Fuck me, please—”

Jamie tried to choke back the noise that rose in his throat, but it was too late. Tyler’s eyes flew open, wide and dark and startled. He froze, staring at Jamie, his hand still on the base of the dildo. His cock, already hard and red between his legs, twitched slightly, liquid beading on the head

He should have been panicking, probably, but Jamie felt unnaturally calm. Like he was on the ice, the shot right there for him to take, win or lose. All he had to do was commit.

Stepping into the bedroom, he set his backpack down and closed the door behind him. “Is that what you want?”

Tyler blinked at him, fingers clenching reflexively on the dildo. “I—what?”

Jamie took his snapback off, tossing it toward his bed without looking to see if it landed. “You want me to fuck you?”

“I—” Tyler’s throat bobbed as he swallowed. “Yeah, I—I want it.”

It took every bit of willpower Jamie possessed not to just pounce on him. But he needed a minute if he wasn’t going to come the second he got inside Tyler. Stripping off his t-shirt, he shoved his shorts and boxers down to the floor, doing his best to regulate his breathing. “How?”

“Huh?” Whatever self-consciousness Jamie had felt about his body, about being naked right now, disappeared as Tyler visibly struggled to look back up at his face, his eyes dragging hungrily over Jamie’s skin. 

“How do you want me to fuck you?” Jamie closed the distance between them until he was standing next to Tyler’s bed, close enough to run a hand down his back, to close his hand over Tyler’s on the base of the dildo. “With this?”

Tyler made a low noise in the back of his throat, his eyes sliding shut. “Fuck. Can you—with that first?”

“Fuck you with this, get you nice and ready for me?” Jamie rocked the dildo into Tyler experimentally, barely any movement, but enough to make Tyler shudder all over.

“Please.” Tyler panted out the word, letting go and bracing himself on the bed as Jamie started pushing the dildo deeper, centimeter by centimeter. “Jamie—” 

Jamie had to close his eyes for a second, overwhelmed by the sight, the sound, the smell of sex that filled the room. “That’s so good, Ty, just like that.”

“Fuck.” Tyler groaned out the word, rocking backward to take it deeper. “More, c’mon.”

Climbing up on the bed to get more leverage, Jamie pushed the dildo in until the base was snug against Tyler’s ass. “Need a minute?”

Tyler shivered, minute tremors racking his body, hands clenching in the sheets, but he shook his head. “C’mon, Jamie, you said—”

Jamie pulled the dildo out a few centimeters and pushed it back in. “Yeah, I’ve got you. Look so good like this.” He frowned as Tyler muffled a noise in his bicep. “No, come on. I want to hear. You sound good, too.”

“God, fuck.” Tyler pushed back again, like he was desperate for it. “More, Jamie, please.”

And that—was maybe even hotter now than the first time he’d heard it. Because now he could fuck Tyler with the dildo, slow, deliberate strokes until he found the angle he’d been searching for— 

“Holy fuck!” Tyler’s whole body went taut. “Yes, there, please—” 

Jamie gave him another handful of thrusts, doing his best to hit that pot every time. “Think you’re ready? Or we can just do it like this—”

“No, I—I want.” Tyler twisted around to look back over his shoulder. “Jamie—”

“Yeah, I got you. Just gotta—”

Before Jamie could finish his sentence, Tyler was rooting around in the covers. A moment later he pressed a condom packet and a bottle of lube into Jamie’s hands with a triumphant noise, one that turned into a groan when the movement shifted the dildo inside him.

Jamie ripped the packet open with hands that felt like they should be shaking, rolling the latex down over his cock and slicking himself with the lube. When he looked up, Tyler was watching, licking his lips, his eyes dark and hungry.

Reaching out, Jamie stroked his clean hand over the curve of Tyler’s ass. “You want it like this?”

“Yeah.” Tyler shifted, bracing his hands on the headboard and looking back at Jamie. “I mean, if you—”

“This is good.” Jamie fought to keep his voice level as he reached for the dildo, started pulling it slowly out. Nothing he hadn’t done a dozen times in the past few minutes, but this time it wasn’t going back in. This time— 

He lined himself up, clean hand curling around Tyler’s hip. He’d meant to ask again, to be sure, but Tyler was still so slick and open from the dildo that the head of his cock started to slip inside with barely any pressure. 

“Oh, God, oh fuck.” Tyler’s head hung down between his arms, his breathing loud in the quiet room. “Fuck, Jamie—”

Jamie froze, even though he couldn’t have sworn that he would be able to stop himself. “Do you need—”

“I will fucking kill you in your sleep if you don’t fuck me right now.” Tyler pushed back, taking Jamie halfway down in one quick movement. “I want it, Jamie, c’mon—”

The rest of his words were lost in a groan as Jamie pushed the rest of the way in one slick thrust. “Like that?”

“Fuck, yes, more.” Tyler’s hands clenched on the headboard, the muscles in his arms rippling under the tattoos. “You want me to beg?”

“Maybe next time.” Jamie fought to keep his voice level, pulling out and rocking back into Tyler. If he’d had any more attention to spare, he would have been blushing, embarrassed at assuming there would be a next time. But honestly he was amazed he still had the ability to speak, that he wasn’t just completely lost in the tight clutch of Tyler’s body around him. “Unless you want to.”

Tyler arched his back, moaned when Jamie started to move in earnest. “Next—next time is good.”

It took a few experimental thrusts before Jamie found the angle he was looking for again, but it was absolutely worth it when he did. 

“Jesus fucking fuck—” Tyler yelled loudly enough that Jamie had a second to be grateful they were in a house, not an apartment or dorm, and that Jordie wouldn’t be home for hours. “Right fucking there Jamie, come on, gonna make me—”

“Yeah.” Jamie’s abs were starting to ache from the angle, so he let himself lean forward, closing his hands over Tyler’s on the headboard. “Like this, can I—”

Tyler actually whimpered, pushing back to meet Jamie’s thrusts. “Yeah, like that. Jamie— fuck, right there, right there—”

Jamie had spent most of his life with people telling him what to do with his body, but he’d never been more grateful than right now, following Tyler’s half-gasped, half-moaned directions until he cried out and came all over the bed.

Within a few more thrusts, Jamie was coming too, undone by the tight grip of Tyler’s ass around his cock, the way Tyler’s body shook under him, little noises that he didn’t seem to be able to control.

It took every bit of strength Jamie possessed not to just collapse onto the bed, smothering Tyler beneath him. But if they were doing this—fuck, Jamie hoped they were doing this, whatever “this” was—it was probably rude to start off by crushing Tyler half to death.

He didn’t seem to mind Jamie’s weight, though, making a disgruntled noise when Jamie let go of his hands and straightened up.

“Gotta take care of the condom, wash my hands.” Jamie couldn’t resist stroking a hand down Tyler’s back again. Just to touch, while he could. In case he couldn’t again. “I’ll be right back.”

“You better.” Tyler rolled onto his side. It looked like he was trying to glare intimidatingly at Jamie, but he was so blissed out-looking, all soft and post-coital, that it was just cute. “You owe me cuddles, Benn.”

Jamie couldn’t stop himself from smiling back, probably a little too soft and fond, but what the hell. He couldn’t take back the last few minutes, and even if he could, he didn’t think he would. “Whatever you say.”

Tyler nodded sharply, like that would keep Jamie from noticing the uncertainty that was trying to creep into his eyes. “Damn right.”

Disposing of the condom in the bathroom, washing his hands, wetting a cloth for cleanup, only took a couple of minutes, but that was long enough for Jamie’s brain to start presenting him with unpleasant what-if scenarios. What if Jamie had misunderstood, or misheard? What if Tyler was figuring out how to tell him that but was scared to lose his home, his place on the team? What if— 

“Cuddles!” Tyler yelled from the bedroom, interrupting Jamie’s spiralling thoughts. 

“I know you know how to say please!” Jamie yelled back before he thought better of it, before his dick made a valiant attempt at getting hard again, remembering the last time he’d heard that word slip out of Tyler’s mouth.

When he walked back into the bedroom, Tyler lay on the bed watching him, shit-eating grin almost wide enough to disguise his nerves. “Yeah, I know how to say please.” He stretched like a cat, all long limbs and rippling muscles, flexing under the tattooed skin of his arms. “You gonna make me, Jamie?”

Jamie took a breath as he crossed the room. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he hesitated, not sure whether to give Tyler the washcloth or if he was allowed— 

Tyler rolled all the way onto his back, spreading his legs slightly in invitation, so Jamie started gently wiping him off. It was easier to ask it this way, when he could keep his eyes fixed on what he was doing. “Is that what you want? You want me to make you?”

Of course, the problem with keeping his eyes on Tyler’s groin instead of his face was that there was no mistaking the twitch of his cock, still half-hard against his thigh, more telling than any verbal answer.

“I—” Jamie looked up in time to see Tyler licking his lips, swallowing hard before speaking again. “I want what you’ll give me.”

Jamie couldn’t help but chuckle a little. “I think that’s my line. I didn’t think you’d ever want—”

Tyler was in his lap before he could finish the sentence, leaning in for a deep, hungry kiss. Their first kiss, Jamie realized with the part of his brain that wasn’t busy kissing back, pulling Tyler as close as he could physically be.

They finally had to break apart to breathe, their foreheads pressed together as they gasped for breath. “Is this stupid?” Tyler’s voice was smaller than Jamie had ever heard. “I don’t want to fuck up again, but I want—Jamie, I want—”

There was no way Jamie could think logically with Tyler wrapped around him like that, but he had the feeling that there was no way he could think logically about this at all. “Yeah, me too.” He rubbed his hands up and down Tyler’s back, curling one around the back of his neck. 

He almost missed whatever Tyler said next, barely audible with Tyler’s face was shoved into the side of his neck. “What?”

Tyler’s inhale pressed his chest against Jamie’s. He lifted his head, looking Jamie in the eye with a mixture of uncertainty and bravado. “Is this just sex?”

“Is that what you want?” Jamie cursed himself the second the words were out. Now Tyler would say yes, and then Jamie would have to be okay with it, and— 

“If that’s what you—” Tyler took another slightly shaky breath. “I told you. I want what you’ll give me.”

Jamie almost, almost took the easy way, but then he looked at Tyler, so uncertain, so willing to leave himself open, and he couldn’t do anything less. “I want to give you everything.”

Tyler bit his lip. “So, like, boyfriends?”

“Boyfriends.” Jamie bit his lip, remembering the way Eaks’ girlfriend had watched Tyler dance the other night. “Exclusive boyfriends?”

The smile spreading across Tyler’s face was one of the best things Jamie had ever seen. “I could be down for that. But like, I can be pretty needy. You ready to deal with that?”

Jamie rolled his hips up, grinding his half-hard cock against Tyler’s ass. “I can give it a shot. You never answered my question, you know.”

Tyler licked his lips, his hands tightening on Jamie’s shoulders. “I—what?”

Reaching up, Jamie took Tyler’s hands and brought them behind his back, gripping his wrists together. “Want me to make you?”

“Oh, fuck.” Tyler breathed the words out. “You—you want to—“

“I really, really want to.” Jamie squeezed gently, watching the way Tyler’s eyes went hot and hazy with desire. “Do you want?”

Tyler laughed breathlessly. “Fuck yeah. If you knew—”

Jamie waited a few seconds, but nothing else seemed to be forthcoming. “If I knew?”

“Jerked off thinking about that, so much.” Tyler’s face flushed redder at the admission, the color spreading down his neck and over his chest. “After that time in the pool—”

“Me too.” Jamie had to kiss him again, licking into his mouth like he could taste the words. 

He didn’t think he’d ever get tired of this, of the taste of Tyler’s mouth, the soft wetness of his lips, the scrape of his stubble. He could probably come just like this, he realized, with Tyler in his lap, grinding down on top of his cock. And maybe someday they would, but right now, he wanted to give Tyler what they both wanted.

It was probably only the element of surprise that let him shift them around, rolling Tyler so he was facedown on the bed, his arms still behind his back. He bucked up a little, maybe in surprise, maybe testing, but Jamie’s weight had landed on his thighs, pinning him securely to the mattress.

“Okay?” Jamie paused, suddenly terrified that he’d read the situation wrong, that Tyler didn’t actually want it, not like this.

“If I was any better I would’ve come already.” Tyler twisted around as much as he could—what would have been a surprising amount if Jamie hadn’t suffered through watching his stretching routine. “Do you want me to have a safe word or something?”

Jamie’s face went hot. He’d never known of anyone doing that in real life, never thought he’d need to, but— “It’d make me feel better.”

Tyler’s smirk softened into something else, something warm and real and just for Jamie. “Okay, stoplights. Red if I want to stop, yellow if I need you to slow down.” 

“Okay.” Jamie still felt a little embarrassed, but he could deal if it meant he could be sure not to hurt Tyler. “And right now?”

“Green, babe. Go for it.”

Taking a breath and trying to ignore the feeling of warmth spreading through him at the endearment, Jamie did as he was told and went for it. Shifting his weight until he was pinning Tyler’s arms to the small of his back, he pushed him into the mattress. It probably wasn’t right for this to turn him on this much, but from the way Tyler was writhing under him, grinding against the bed, he wasn’t the only one.

Freeing up a hand, Jamie dug the lube out from where it was half-buried in the sheets. It took him a couple of tries to open it one-handed and he made a mess getting it on his fingers, but whatever. They were already going to have to wash these sheets.

Tyler bucked again when Jamie pushed a finger inside, sliding down to the knuckle without resistance. “Oh, fuck.”

“When I’m ready.” Jamie couldn’t believe how calm his voice sounded, how normal. Or, for that matter, the words that were spilling out of his mouth. “If I want to. Maybe I just want to finger-fuck you until you come all over yourself, see how much I can make you take.”

“Fuck, please—” 

Jamie pulled out, pressed back in with two fingers, spreading them apart. Tyler was still so loose that he honestly could have just slid back in. His cock was definitely in favor of that, fully hard again and aching a little with it, but he found himself unwilling to end this just yet. “Please yes? Please no? You gonna ask me nicely?”

“Please, Jamie.” Tyler’s breath was coming almost in sobs now. He writhed under Jamie, like he wasn’t sure if he was trying to move away from the fingers inside him or get them deeper. “Please, fuck me.”

“Hm.” Jamie added another finger, just because he could. “That wasn’t bad, I guess. But I’m not sure I believed it. You want me to fuck you like this, pin you down so you can’t move?”

If Jamie hadn’t already been hard, the noise Tyler made would have gotten him there. “God, fuck, Jamie. Please. Do it.”

Jamie curled his fingers, a savage rush of satisfaction flooding through him when Tyler’s whole body jolted at the touch on his prostate. “Do what? You’ve gotta ask me, baby.”

“Fuuuck.” Tyler panted harshly against the bed. “Please, fuck me, please, please, please—“

“Okay.” Jamie indulged himself with one more thrust of his fingers before pulling out. Reaching for the lube again, he instantly realized something was missing. 

Thankfully a moment of searching the sheets turned up a forgotten condom. Ripping it open without letting go of Tyler’s hands was a little awkward, but Jamie managed, rolling it on and clumsily slicking himself up.

By the time he finished, Tyler was bucking up under him, moving restlessly against the sheets, arms twisting in his grip. “Jamie, Jamie, please, please—“

Lining up, Jamie forced himself not to just bottom out in one quick thrust like his body was clamoring to do. “Like that? That what you want?”

“More, Jamie, please.” Tyler was moving even more, like he couldn’t think of anything else beyond getting more of Jamie’s cock inside him. “Please—“

Jamie pushed inside, centimeter by torturous centimeter. “Gonna give you what you want, baby. You gonna be good?”

“Yeah, please.” Tyler’s eyes were squeezed shut. “I’ll be good, Jamie, please. Make me.”

Leaning forward, Jamie gave himself permission, let go of the control he’d been holding on to. He couldn’t get a lot of leverage while pinning Tyler to the bed, but the deep, grinding strokes he could manage felt amazing.

“Fuck fuck—” Tyler’s voice was almost a sob by now, his body shaking under Jamie’s.

“Gonna come for me.” Jamie panted the words out, barely managing to make them a command and not a question. “Just—like—this—”

Tyler’s whole body went tight under him as he came with a groan. Jamie didn’t want it to end, the slick heat of Tyler around him, the warmth of Tyler’s skin under him. But the way Tyler clenched around him was too much to resist, and within a couple more rough thrusts he was coming, too.

As soon as he had enough working brain cells to think of it, he forced his grip to loosen on Tyler’s wrists, shifting over to collapse onto the bed next to him. Tyler made an inarticulate grumbling noise, closing the space between them until he was tucked against Jamie, ignoring the heat rising from their skin and the sweat and other fluids coating them.

It was objectively gross. Jamie didn’t care even a little.

“Was that okay?” He rubbed a hand down Tyler’s arms, checking his wrist for any irritation. “I didn’t—”

Tyler blinked his eyes open, rolling over enough to make eye contact. “Jamie, that was—fucking fantastic, okay. We have to do that, like, all the time.”

“I might actually die.” Jamie regretted the words the instant they were out, but hell. Tyler wasn’t going to chirp him for it. Probably.

Sure enough, Tyler just waggled his eyebrows, one corner of his mouth tipping up into a smirk. “Yeah, but what a way to go.”

“Brat.” Jamie mustered up enough energy to lean down and kiss that smirk. He could do that now. He was allowed.

Tyler kissed back, soft and sweet, and yeah. Jamie could get used to this. “You like it.”

“For some reason.” With a Herculean effort, Jamie sat up, grabbing at the condom just before it slid off. “Come on, lets go get showered. I’m starving.”

Grumbling a little, Tyler stretched extravagantly before rolling to his feet. “Yeah, okay. Can we shower together?”

Jamie slid his free arm around Tyler, pulling him close. “Just a shower. I’m not gonna be able to get it up with a crane right now.”

“We might have to test that sometime.” Tyler yelped when Jamie slid a hand down to his ass, dipping a fingertip inside where he was still loose and wet. “Okay fine, yeah, point taken. Just a shower. I just—”

Jamie followed him inside the bathroom, enjoying the way the close quarters kept them brushing up against each other. It was almost distracting enough to keep him from noticing that Tyler hadn’t finished his sentence. “You just?”

Tyler shrugged one shoulder, reaching over to turn the water on. “Just feels good. Touching. I like it.”

“Me too.” Disposing of the condom, Jamie came up behind him, wrapping his arms around his waist. “Want me to wash your hair?”

Tyler twisted in his loose hold, turning until he could see Jamie’s face. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Jamie stuck a hand in to test the water temperature, then pulled back the curtain. “Come on, get in before the hot water runs out.”

The tub shower combo was a few years old and very definitely not designed for two men to shower together, especially not when they were both college athletes. But Jamie couldn’t work up his usual annoyance, not when it meant Tyler’s body, warm and wet against his. Not when there were soapy hands moving over skin, not when Tyler’s head tipped back into the spray, his face relaxed and open in a way Jamie didn’t think he’d ever seen before.

If the hot water hadn’t eventually given out, Jamie thought he might have just stayed there all day, trading lazy kisses and touches with Tyler. After two orgasms each, there was no urgency, no rush. Just soft, sweet warmth.

Eventually, though, the spray turned cold and they had to step out, brushing against each other as they toweled off, as they made their way back to their room. 

“This boyfriend thing is pretty cool.” Tyler pulled on a pair of boxer briefs.

Jamie paused, underwear in his hands, to admire the view. “Yeah, yeah it is.”

Before they can get any sappier, the front door banged open and closed. “Wake up, losers,” Jordie yelled. “We’re getting tacos.”

Tyler smirked at Jamie, his shirt briefly obscuring it as he pulled it on. “Tacos sound pretty good. I worked up an appetite somehow.”

Rolling his eyes, Jamie turned his attention to his own clothes. “Yeah, yeah, can’t imagine how that happened.”

“Better eat up.” Tyler raked his fingers through his wet hair, winking at Jamie as he turned toward the door. “I have plans for you later.”

Face flushed, Jamie followed.


	6. Epilogue

Like an idiot, Tyler didn’t think to ask Jamie if they were telling Jordie about them before he left the bedroom. But in his defense, Jamie had fucked his brains out. Twice.

Thankfully Jamie didn’t leave him hanging for long. 

“There you are.” Jordie didn’t pause on his way back toward his room, untucking his polo shirt from his khakis. “You have two minutes while I get changed and then we’re gonna go drink beer and eat tacos.”

“Cool.” Jamie did what was already Tyler’s favorite move, coming up behind him and wrapping his arms around Tyler’s waist, hooking his chin over Tyler’s shoulder. “I’m starving.”

Jordie paused mid-step, his eyes raking over them. “About fucking time, Chubbs. Just don’t fuck super loud and wake me up, okay? Because I will murder you.”

Laughing, Jamie let go of Tyler with one hand to flip his brother off. “Yeah, yeah. Like you and Andrea weren’t loud as fuck last year. I’ll loan you my earplugs.”

With a scoffing noise, Jordie disappeared down the hallway, leaving Tyler alone with his boyfriend(!!!) and the gentle warmth of happiness bubbling up inside of him.

“Hey, I was thinking.” Jamie’s hand came back to rest on Tyler’s stomach. “After tacos we should finish watching that show. What was it called?”

“ _ Real Housewives of Dallas. _ ” Tyler let himself lean back against Jamie’s solid warmth, let himself believe that this was real. That he could have this. “You are not going to believe the shit LeeAnne has been saying."

Jamie kissed his cheek. "Can't wait."

"Ugh, gross." Jordie came out of his room, settling his snapback onto his head. "No PDA at dinner, lovebirds, I want to keep my appetite."

Tyler let Jamie lace their fingers together, following Jordie to the door. "No promises."

Despite Jordie protesting and threatening to pull over, they made out in the back seat for the whole drive. 

This boyfriend shit was awesome.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hoard your comments like a particularly web-savvy dragon, so please let me know what you thought. Emoji comments, extra kudos, wordless flailing, step-by-step analysis, super-long essays, I love them!
> 
> If you like the way I write dumb hockey bros and enjoy the "slow burn spiced with very explicit fantasies" that is apparently my brand, you might enjoy checking out [my author Tumblr](http://ariel-bishop.tumblr.com). And I'm always down for yelling about BennGuin on [my main blog](http://dizzy-redhead.tumblr.com).


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